2018
by alwayswriting
Summary: It's 2018. Max's son is trying to find him.--THE LAST PART IS UP!
1. Journey

One  
  
Max Evans walked into his children's bedroom and smiled at the sight of them sound asleep. Five-year-old Caleb was wrapped up in his blue blanket while three year old Sarah slept with her teddy bear. He quietly shut the door and headed to his own room.  
  
Liz was sitting up in bed, reading a book. Her belly was round with child; their third child was due in six months. She set her book aside and motioned for him to join her in bed.  
  
"Are they asleep?" she asked.  
  
He nodded as he got in bed. "How did we get so lucky with such well- behaved children?"  
  
Liz shrugged. "It was destiny."  
  
Max looked at her strangely.  
  
"What?" she said.  
  
"It's just that word," he said. "It just makes me remember."  
  
Liz hesitated. "Tess?"  
  
"Everything we went through in Roswell."  
  
"What else do you remember?" Liz placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Or would you rather forget?"  
  
Max leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "I have a long day tomorrow. Lets go to sleep." He reached for the lamp on the nightstand and turned it off.  
  
  
  
Michael Guerin knew Santa Fe was the right place to relocate after leaving Roswell. He had opened up a bar with a few friends when he had moved to the city, but after a few years, his friends moved on, allowing Michael to have complete control over the place. Space was now one of the hottest spots in New Mexico. Celebrities, tourists, everyone made it a priority to visit Space.  
  
It was a busy Thursday night. Michael was doing his usual rounds of greeting the people: a handshake there, a smile there, a quick peck on the cheek; that's all it took to keep the business coming. He made his way through the dance floor when Alan, one of his security men, approached him.  
  
"Mr. Guerin, your wife is here to see you," he said.  
  
"Damn." Michael shook his head and walked to his office.  
  
Beth was sitting in a chair with her legs crossed. She turned to face her husband with a smile. "Hi, honey."  
  
"What are you doing here?" He took a seat behind his desk. "Run out of vodka at home?"  
  
Beth kept the smile on her face. "What? I can't come see my husband at work?"  
  
"You only come see me here for two reasons," Michael said. "Money and…on second thought, you only come here for one reason."  
  
"That's not true." She got up and walked around the desk. "I was feeling lonely tonight, sweetie." She straddled him in his chair. "I missed you."  
  
"You should have just called the pool boy," he said.  
  
Beth nibbled on his ear. "But, I want you, Michael."  
  
Her warm breath on his skin was driving him crazy. He grabbed her suddenly and threw her down on top of his desk.  
  
"I like it when you're rough," Beth said between kisses.  
  
Michael didn't reply.  
  
  
  
Friday morning in Santa Fe was usually slow for Isabel Evans-Ramirez. Her gift shop didn't open until noon when the babysitter could come over. She placed her two-year-old son, Alex, in the playpen as she went to make breakfast. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she opened the refrigerator door. She took out the milk and juice along with the eggs and bagels, and then stopped. She didn't need all this food. She was doing it again: making breakfast for three.  
  
Jesse had moved out three weeks ago. They had both agreed that they needed time apart, but they both knew that divorce papers were on their way. He was now living in an apartment downtown near his law firm.  
  
Just then, the phone rang. It was Jesse.  
  
"How's Alex?" he asked.  
  
She glanced at her son, who was quietly playing with his stuffed animals. "He's fine. I think he knows you're missing."  
  
"How?"  
  
"He seems sad."  
  
"I can come over today after work," he said. "Is that okay with you?"  
  
"Of course. You don't need my permission to come over and visit your own son," Isabel said.  
  
"I'll be over at six."  
  
"I can make dinner."  
  
"That'll be nice."  
  
Isabel smiled. "See you then."  
  
  
  
Kyle Valenti walked into The Crashdown restaurant and took a seat in a booth. A teenage girl approached him with an order pad.  
  
"The usual, Mr. Valenti?" she said.  
  
"Yes, Katie."  
  
"Coming right up." The girl headed for the kitchen.  
  
Maria came out of the back room and smiled at the sight of her husband. She kissed Kyle and took a seat across from him. "I thought you couldn't make it for breakfast today."  
  
"I dropped the twins off at Amy's," he said.  
  
"So, you could come surprise me at work?" She leaned over to kiss him again. "How sweet."  
  
"You know you should really change the dress code here," Kyle said.  
  
"What?" Maria said. "Those alien aprons and antennas?"  
  
Kyle nodded.  
  
"Those are signature uniforms, Kyle Valenti," she said. "It's something I promised Mr. Parker I would keep enforced when I bought The Crashdown from him."  
  
Katie came back with Kyle's order. "One Black Hole just for you." She set the cup of coffee in front of him. "Enjoy."  
  
"Before you go, Katie, can I ask you a question?" Kyle said.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Do you enjoy wearing your uniform?" he said.  
  
Maria kicked him under the table. "Don't mind, Mr. Valenti, he hasn't had his coffee yet. Go ahead, honey, drink it."  
  
"I'm fine, thanks," he said. "So, do you, Katie?"  
  
Katie looked at Maria, as if contemplating if there was a right answer. "Well, I do enjoy the antennas."  
  
Maria smiled smugly at Kyle.  
  
"Thank you, Katie," he said.  
  
"No problem," she said as she went to tend to other tables.  
  
"Let me run my business, darling," Maria said. "I don't tell you how to run the body shop, do I?"  
  
"That reminds me, I have to get going," he said taking the coffee with him. "See you at lunch." He kissed his wife on the cheek before leaving.  
  
  
  
Before he reached the body shop, Kyle stopped by his father's home. Jim Valenti was reading the newspaper in the living room as he walked in.  
  
"Kyle," Jim said with a smile. "On your way to work?"  
  
He nodded. "I bought you some coffee." He handed the cup to him.  
  
"Thank you." Jim took a sip and pointed to the newspaper. "Looks like Michael made the front page again."  
  
Kyle picked it up and saw that there was an article on a fight that had erupted at Space.  
  
"All of this publicity is only helping him," he said.  
  
"Have you heard from anyone lately?" Jim asked. "Max? Isabel?"  
  
Kyle shook his head. "I talked to Isabel last month, but Max and Liz, and Michael, it's been ages."  
  
"Well, I guess it's true then," Jim said. "Once you get to leave Roswell, you never want to come back."  
  
  
  
Two  
  
Jeremy Gilbert finished smoking his cigarette and opened up his spiral bound notebook.  
  
Last night I had a dream. I dreamt about my real parents. I dreamt that they had found me and that they wanted me to be their son again. They wanted to be a family again. When I woke up, I was tingling all over and I swear I was glowing a weird green color. Not unless I was still dreaming.  
  
"Hey."  
  
He looked up to see his best friend, Lindsey Elliott, standing before him. He stopped writing and closed his notebook.  
  
"What's up?" she said as she came closer.  
  
"Don't you have Bio right now?" he said.  
  
'Don't you have English right now?" she said.  
  
Jeremy moved to make room for her under the bleachers. She sat down and saw all the cigarette butts on the ground. "Hand them over."  
  
"What?"  
  
She sighed.  
  
Jeremy handed her his cigarette pack. "You're cruel."  
  
"You'll thank me later when you're not coughing up a lung," Lindsey said.  
  
"I had another dream," he said.  
  
"About your real parents?"  
  
Jeremy nodded. "It was like they were really here with me."  
  
"Do you think they're in Pennsylvania?"  
  
He shook his head. "I was adopted in New Mexico."  
  
"Maybe they're still there."  
  
"You think so?" A glimmer of hope spread through his body. "Maybe I can talk to my parents and see if they know anything about my adoption."  
  
"What do you want to find out, Jeremy?"  
  
"The truth."  
  
  
  
After school, Jeremy ran home as fast as he could so he could start on his investigation. Christina Gilbert was folding laundry in the living room with the television set on. She was listening intently to the talk show.  
  
"Hi, Mom," he said.  
  
"Hey, sweetie. How was school?"  
  
"Just another typical day of your average sixteen year old boy." He sat down next to his mother. "Can we talk about something, Mom?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Roswell, New Mexico."  
  
Christina turned her eyes away from the talk show and looked at her son. "What about it?"  
  
"I want to know about my adoption, and my parents, I mean, my biological parents."  
  
"Jeremy, do we have to do this now?"  
  
"I have a right to know," he said.  
  
"Yes, you do, but I think it'll be better if your father was here also."  
  
"You're trying to stall, Mom. Just tell me something, anything, please?"  
  
Christina looked into Jeremy's desperate blue eyes. "It was your father that gave you away. He was only eighteen, about to graduate from high school. I never met him, but I met his parents, your grandparents, when we were going through the adoption procedure. They were very nice and caring people."  
  
"And my mother?"  
  
"They didn't mention her, only that she was also young like your father."  
  
"That's it?"  
  
Christina sighed. "Honey, you're sixteen years old, you're healthy, you have a wonderful home here with your father and I. What are you searching for?"  
  
Jeremy remembered his dreams. "Hope."  
  
  
  
Three  
  
Michael entered Isabel's Treasures and started to examine the glass statues that were on display in front of the store. He picked one up of a ballerina.  
  
"You break it, you buy it," Isabel said coming up behind him.  
  
He set it back on the table. "Is that how you treat all your customers?"  
  
"Just you," she said smiling. "So, what are you doing in my part of the neighborhood?"  
  
"You mean away from the drug dealers and hookers?" he said.  
  
"Michael."  
  
He shrugged. "I was thinking how we live in the same city, but we hardly see one another."  
  
"I have Jesse and a baby, you have Beth and the club," Isabel said.  
  
"How are they?"  
  
"Alex is great. Jesse though, he moved out three weeks ago."  
  
Michael's eyes filled with concern. "Why? What happened, Isabel?"  
  
"It was getting harder and harder to live together, to stay together, even for Alex's sake," she said. "Then one day we decided we needed to take a break."  
  
"How long of a break?"  
  
"I think he's bringing the divorce papers over tonight."  
  
Michael took her into his arms. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be," she said.  
  
"Have you told Max?" Michael asked.  
  
"No, not yet, but I will." Isabel pulled away from him. "By the way, have you heard from anyone lately?"  
  
"If I can't keep in touch with you, how do you expect me to keep in touch with the others?" he said.  
  
"True," she said. "I just wonder that's all."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About how everyone else is doing in their lives."  
  
  
  
"Max?"  
  
Max looked up from his computer. Henry, another sales agent, was standing in the doorway. "Yes, Henry?"  
  
"Mr. Simmons wants to know when your progress report will be ready," he said.  
  
Max looked through a folder. "Tell him tonight."  
  
"Alright, I'll tell him," Henry said leaving.  
  
The truth was that he hadn't even started on his report yet. He had spent the entire day staring at his computer screen and pretending to do work. His mind was a million miles away.  
  
The California sun was shining brightly outside as Max stared out the window. He had another dream last night. It was fuzzy with images of Tess, his son Zan, his life in Roswell. It had been nearly ten years since he and Liz had left Roswell, why did he have those images in his head?  
  
Just then his phone rang.  
  
"Hi, Daddy," Caleb said.  
  
"Hey, Caleb!"  
  
"You work?"  
  
"Yup, I'm at work. What are you doing?"  
  
"Draw in."  
  
"Drawing?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Give me the phone, Caleb," Liz said in the background.  
  
"Bye-bye, Daddy."  
  
"Bye, Caleb."  
  
There was a shuffle as Liz took the phone from Caleb. "Max?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Cal wanted to talk you so sorry if I disturbed you," she said.  
  
"It's okay. I'm not actually in the working mood today."  
  
"Are you feeling okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay, but…" He paused, unsure on his how to explain to Liz his worries.  
  
"But, what?"  
  
"It's just this feeling that I have." He sighed. "It's nothing. I'm going to be late tonight for dinner."  
  
"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Liz said.  
  
"Okay. Love you." He hung up the phone just as a sharp pain hit his head. He clutched his temples and collapsed to the floor.  
  
  
  
Jeremy had fallen asleep after talking to his mother. Once again, his dreams were filled with blurry images of his real mother and father. His memories were all scattered as if he had lived two lives and his mind was trying to figure out which one was real and which one was fake.  
  
Suddenly, an image became clear. It was his father. He had dark hair and eyes. He was reaching out for him. Jeremy reached out for him also and as soon as they made contact, his eyes flew open.  
  
He was in his bed, in Pennsylvania, far and away from Roswell, New Mexico.  
  
  
  
"Oh, my god, Max!" Liz rushed over to his side in the hospital room. "What happened? The doctors said you had a server migraine."  
  
"Where are the kids?" he asked.  
  
"In the lobby with Serena," she said. "Tell me, Max. What happened?"  
  
"He's trying to contact me again," Max said.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"My son."  
  
"Caleb?"  
  
"Zan."  
  
  
  
Four  
  
Jim had retired from Roswell Investigations five years ago, but every once and awhile he would stop by the place. Detective Marshall Higgins was a man in his late thirties whom Jim had passed on the torch of "man in charge" when he had retired.  
  
"Jim, checking up on us, huh?" he said as he extended his hand.  
  
Jim shook his hand. "I can't stay away, Marshall, especially when you're in charge."  
  
Marshall laughed. "You were the one who promoted me."  
  
"I must have not been thinking clearly," Jim said. "Anything exciting going on?"  
  
"This is Roswell, Jim," Marshall said. He grabbed some files from his desk. "A man wants to know if his wife is cheating on him, a mother suspects that her daughter is seeing an older man, and a young man thinks he saw an alien last night."  
  
Jim looked at him sternly. "What was that last one?"  
  
"I'm joking," Marshall said laughing. "You think that living in the city where a so-called alien ship crashed, we'd get more alien reports."  
  
Jim joined in on the joke. "Leave that to the FBI, Marshall."  
  
Just then, Detective Larry Carter walked in. "Just received an inquiry from Pennsylvania." He handed Marshall a piece of paper. "Here's his information."  
  
"Thanks, Larry." Marshall looked over the writing and read it out loud. "Jeremy Gilbert, age 16, from Langston, Pennsylvania. He was adopted in Roswell when he was a baby. He wants to find his real parents."  
  
"A little ambitious for a sixteen year old boy, isn't he?" Larry said.  
  
"Does he have any leads on where his parents might be?" Jim asked.  
  
"Just one," Marshall said. "Says he was adopted from the Evans family."  
  
  
  
"Here we go again."  
  
Kyle looked at Maria with a weary look.  
  
"What?" she said. "I feel like I'm seventeen again, ready to fight off evil aliens and the FBI, only problem is that I'm married with twins."  
  
"I was shocked too, "Jim said as he paced his son's living room floor. "Can you believe it? After all these years, he's looking for Max."  
  
"But I thought Max did something to him," Kyle said. "He gave him a different memory so he wouldn't remember his alienness, right?"  
  
"It's probably fading away," Jim said. "He must have tapped into his real memories."  
  
"What about him being 100 percent human?" Maria said. "Do you think that's true still? What if he's starting to heal people, or blow stuff up?"  
  
No one answered her.  
  
"We need to contact the others," Jim said.  
  
Five  
  
Isabel turned on the stove with a wave of her hand. It had been awhile since she had used her powers. She raised her hand to the cabinet and a box of spaghetti noodles floated to her.  
  
Alex giggled at the sight as he sat in his high chair.  
  
She kissed him on top of his head. "Now don't go telling anyone, okay?"  
  
She raised her hand and the refrigerator opened. The spaghetti sauce floated to her.  
  
"Isabel."  
  
The glass container fell to the kitchen floor as Isabel turned to face Jesse. "Jesse, I didn't here you come in."  
  
"You know how I feel about you using your powers in front of Alex," he said.  
  
"I'm sorry." She quickly began to pick up the broken shards of glass on the floor, a little too quickly. A piece of glass sliced her right hand.  
  
"Isabel." Jesse grabbed a towel and placed it on the wound. "Be careful."  
  
They looked into each other's eyes. Isabel felt herself get lost in his warm brown; Jesse felt hypnotized by her icy blue.  
  
"I'll go get the first aid kit in the bathroom," Jesse said, breaking away from her. "I'll be right back."  
  
When he left, the phone suddenly rang. On the other end was Jim Valenti.  
  
"Hi, Jim! It's been so long. How have you been?"  
  
"Fine, thanks. Isabel, you need to come back to Roswell," he said.  
  
"What's wrong? Are Maria and Kyle in trouble?"  
  
"No," he said. "It's Max."  
  
  
  
Michael sat in his office at home, staring a picture that was taken nearly sixteen years ago. It was a group picture from the summer after everyone had graduated from high school. Who would have thought they would end up in these living their lives now? The only exception was Max and Liz. Married with children, of course that was expected. But everyone else. Here he was, rich and unhappy. Isabel was on the verge of a divorce. Maria and Kyle married, now that was unexpected.  
  
The sun was going down the horizon. He was supposed to be at Space that night, but something had come up. Something that he thought he had left behind the summer the picture was taken.  
  
The phone rang.  
  
"Michael? Has Jim called you?" It was Isabel. "Have you talked to him?"  
  
"I just got off the phone with him," he said.  
  
"So you know then?"  
  
Michael was silent for a moment. "I'm coming back to Roswell tonight."  
  
  
  
Max and Liz were sitting in opposite sides of the living room. Max was staring down at his hands while Liz looked out the window. The sky was getting dark.  
  
"I have to go back, Liz," Max said.  
  
"No, you don't," she said. "You have a choice. You can stay here with me and the kids."  
  
"Please try to understand," he said.  
  
"I do understand, Max, but it's so hard." She placed her hand on her stomach. "What about the kids?"  
  
"I'll tell them I'm going on a business trip," Max said.  
  
"No, not that," she said. "Do you think they're like Zan?" She held back her tears. "Will they develop powers later?"  
  
Max went to her side. "No, Liz. Don't even think about that. You're safe, and so are the kids. Your powers went away when you stopped using them, and I haven't used mine in years. We're safe."  
  
"We tried, didn't we?" Liz said with a half-smile.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We tried to be normal," she said. "It didn't work."  
  
Six  
  
Paul Gilbert handed his son the bus ticket. Jeremy took it from him and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Paul and Christina hugged him one last time before he got on the bus.  
  
"Whatever you find, I hope it helps you," Paul said.  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
"Wait! Jeremy!" Lindsey was running towards them with bags in her hands. "I'm coming too!"  
  
"What? How?" Jeremy was stunned. "Are you sure?"  
  
"I talked to my parents, and they said it was okay, if it was okay with you," she said.  
  
"Yeah, it is." Jeremy threw his arms around her and twirled her around. "Come on. Lets go."  
  
They said good-bye to Paul and Christina and boarded the bus.  
  
"Ready for an adventure?" Lindsey said.  
  
Jeremy smiled at her. "I'm ready for anything."  
  
  
  
A few hours later, the bus stopped at a rest area. It was late in the evening as everyone got off the bus.  
  
"Meet me in the vending area," Jeremy told Lindsey.  
  
Lindsey went to the woman's bathroom and looked in the mirror. She splashed some cold water on her face and ran her fingers through her blond hair.  
  
"Where are you heading, sweetie?" An elderly woman was standing next to her. "Are you by yourself?"  
  
"No," Lindsey said. "I'm with a friend."  
  
"Long trip?"  
  
Lindsey nodded. "New Mexico."  
  
"That is a journey, isn't it?" The woman looked her over. "What's so special about New Mexico?"  
  
"My friend wants to—" Lindsey stopped herself. The woman was suddenly creeping out. "I have to get going." She quickly left the bathroom and met Jeremy in the vending area.  
  
"Cookie?" he said offering the bag.  
  
"Lets get out of here," Lindsey said. She looked over her shoulder. "I think she might be following me."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"That old lady." Lindsey pointed to the restrooms, but there was no one there. "She was there a minute ago."  
  
"Are you feeling all right, Lindsey?" Jeremy asked.  
  
"Lets just get back on the bus," she said.  
  
They got on the bus and it took off soon after.  
  
  
  
The elderly woman stepped out of the shadows and watched the bus leave the parking lot. Her face morphed into a man and her dress changed into a black business suit. He took out a cell phone and dialed a number.  
  
"I found him."  
  
  
  
Seven  
  
"Why in the hell are you going back to that place?" Beth followed Michael to the front door. "You have a business to run here. What about the club?"  
  
"It's not going to fall apart if I'm gone for a few days," he said as he put on his coat.  
  
"Michael."  
  
Something in her voice made him pause. It was filled with genuine concern. He turned and looked into her blue eyes.  
  
"Be back soon," she said as she hugged him.  
  
He hugged her back and kissed her. "I will."  
  
  
  
Isabel finished packing her bags and picked up Alex and held him close. His soft skin felt warm against her whole skin. She tried not to cry.  
  
"Isabel?" Jesse came up to them. "Are you all set?"  
  
She nodded and handed him Alex. "Thank you for watching over him while I'm gone."  
  
"Please be careful, Isabel," he said. "I want Alex to grow up knowing his mother."  
  
She smiled. "I'll be careful."  
  
A car horn beeped outside. It was Michael.  
  
"I have to go," she said. She kissed Alex on top of his head. "Mommy will be back soon." She looked up at Jesse. "Jesse…"  
  
He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips.  
  
Isabel grabbed her things and left the house.  
  
Jesse watched from the window as Michael and Isabel left. "Come back to me, Isabel."  
  
  
  
"I want to go, Max," Liz said.  
  
Max sighed. "It's not safe, and you know it. The kids and the baby." He placed his hand over hers. "I want you to be safe."  
  
"Whatever happens, Max—"  
  
"I'll be back, Liz," he said. "No matter what, I'll come back to you." He kissed her passionately.  
  
The taxi pulled up into their driveway.  
  
"I'll call you when I reach Roswell," he said.  
  
Liz held onto Max tightly as he walked through the door. She watched him leave with tears in her eyes and then she realized her hand was still raised, clutching nothing but air. 


	2. Reunion

Eight  
  
The bus came to a stop as Jeremy opened his eyes. He yawned and noticed that Lindsey was sleeping on his shoulder. He smiled and gently nudged her. "Hey. We're at a rest stop."  
  
Lindsey opened her eyes. "I had the best dream." She sat up and stretched her arms over her head. "It involved Prince William and ice cream."  
  
"Give it up, Lindsey," Jeremy said with a laugh. "You are never going to meet a prince."  
  
"Yeah, I just get the frogs," she said.  
  
They made their way out of the bus and into the small diner. Lindsey walked into the game room while Jeremy went to the restroom. She took out some change from her pocket and started to play an arcade game.  
  
"Hey, sweetheart." Two men in their mid-twenties approached her. One of them lit up a cigarette and offered it to Lindsey.  
  
"No, thanks," she said as she tried to leave the game room.  
  
They stood in her way. "Where's the hurry?" the smoker said. He took a drag of the cigarette. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing alone?"  
  
"She's not alone."  
  
They turned to see Jeremy standing behind them. Lindsey sighed with relief. "Jeremy, lets get out of here," she said as she tried to move away from the two men. Once again, they prevented her from moving.  
  
"Let her through," Jeremy said.  
  
"Or what?" the smoker said. "Are you going to take out your water gun?" His friend laughed at the comment. "We're just having some fun here."  
  
Jeremy raised his fists. "Let her through."  
  
The two guys laughed at his gesture. "Oh, boy, you're just asking for it, aren't you?" The smoker threw a punch at Jeremy, but he missed as Jeremy ducked out of the way.  
  
Lindsey watched helplessly. "Jeremy!"  
  
The friend tried to grab Jeremy's arms to hold him. Jeremy raised his hands to block him.  
  
Suddenly, one of the arcade games exploded, then another, and another. One by one the glass shattered and the games turned into small fires.  
  
They looked around at the sudden destruction in disbelief.  
  
"Lets get out of here!" the smoker said. He and his friend fled the scene.  
  
Jeremy grabbed Lindsey's hand as they ran to bus.  
  
"What happened back there?" Lindsey asked as they sat down.  
  
He looked at his hands; they were tingling. "I have no idea."  
  
  
  
Maria checked on the twins in the playpen and went back into the kitchen where Kyle and Jim were sitting. "So, do we have to go pick up Max from the airport?"  
  
Kyle shook his head. "Michael and Isabel are."  
  
"Should I get chips or make some dip for the reunion?" Maria said. Her comment got no responses. "Sorry. Just trying to change the depressing mood in this house."  
  
"I'm just glad that Liz isn't coming," Kyle said. "It's too dangerous for her and the baby."  
  
"It's too dangerous for all of us," Jim said.  
  
  
  
Michael and Isabel sat side by side in the airport lobby. Isabel had fallen asleep; her head was resting on Michael's shoulder. His eyes were on the departure and arrival boards. Los Angeles to Santa Fe was due at any minute.  
  
"Is he here yet?" Isabel said as she woke up.  
  
"No, not yet," he said.  
  
And that's when they saw him walking out into the lobby. Max scanned the area to see where Michael and Isabel were. They walked up to him. For the longest time, they stared at one another, unsure of how to greet each other. It had been so long since the three had been together.  
  
"Max," Isabel said. Tears appeared in her eyes as she put her arms around her brother.  
  
Michael joined them in the embrace. "Welcome back, Maxwell."  
  
Max closed his eyes and let the moment linger.  
  
  
  
Nine  
  
There was a soft knock on the door later that evening. Maria, who had been sleeping on the couch, looked over at Kyle who was opening the door. Max, Michael, and Isabel stood in the doorway. He gave each of them a warm hug as they entered the house.  
  
"How was the trip?" Maria asked.  
  
"Fine, thanks," Max said.  
  
Kyle took their bags and put them in the guest room. "My father's asleep, but if you want me to wake him, I will."  
  
"No, that's not necessary," Max said. "Can you tell us what's going on?"  
  
"Well, there's not much that we know," Kyle said. "But we can fill you in with as much as my father has told us."  
  
The three sat down next to Maria and Kyle and listened.  
  
"His name is Jeremy Gilbert," Kyle said. "He's sixteen years old now and he called Roswell Investigations to do a search. He wants to find you and…" He paused and lowered his eyes.  
  
"And?" Max said.  
  
Kyle continued. "He wants to find you and Tess. His birth parents. He knows that your parents are the one who gave him away, which means he probably knows about you too."  
  
"Do you have any idea why he's looking for Max?" Isabel said.  
  
"He's probably curious. He's an adopted kid looking for his place in this world," Kyle said.  
  
"Well, that's the problem," Maria said. "He doesn't belong in this world."  
  
"What if it's something else?" Michael said.  
  
"Like what?" Isabel said.  
  
Michael looked at Max. "What if he's been mindwarping people, or healing people all of a sudden? What if he wants answers?"  
  
  
  
Lindsey watched Jeremy sleep. Her overhead light was on as she tried to read a book. The darkness sped past them as the bus moved across the highway. Most of the other passengers were also asleep. She put down her book and turned off her light. She glanced at Jeremy one more time before closing her eyes.  
  
  
  
Jeremy was hardly aware of Lindsey's stare as he slept. He was lost in his dreams.  
  
  
  
Max was tossing and turning in bed. Isabel watched him as he struggled to find a peaceful sleep. Every now and then he would mumble something. "Tess." "Zan." "Liz." Even hers and Michael's name came up a couple of times. She wondered what he was dreaming about, and she wondered if she should wake him up. Before long though, she was also asleep, caught up in her own dreams.  
  
  
  
Jeremy had never been to this place before, but at the same time, it felt like he had. When he looked down at his feet, he saw that he was walking on solid ground. Still, he felt weightless, as though he was floating. In a distance, he saw a light. He was attracted to it and followed it. When he finally reached that light, he was immersed in it with colors everywhere. In that light, he saw them. His family. And the names all came back to him. Zan. Ava. Vilandra. Rath. He began to feel dizzy and the image began to fade away.  
  
"I have my father's name," he said.  
  
And then it was gone. The solid ground. The light. The family.  
  
At that exact moment, Max, Isabel, and Michael woke up in their beds, out of breath and confused at the dream they just had.  
  
  
  
Ten  
  
"How's everyone doing?" Liz asked.  
  
Max moved the phone to his other ear. "It's hard to say. Isabel and Michael seem to have other things on their minds. Maria and Kyle are trying their best to help, same with Jim." He sighed. "I can't help, but feel like this is all my fault."  
  
"Don't say that, Max," Liz said. "Your son is looking for you. I want you to find him."  
  
"And then what?" he said. "What do I do after I find him?"  
  
"Tell him the truth," she said. "Tell him what he wants to know."  
  
"Breakfast, Max?" Maria said to him.  
  
He nodded and went back to Liz. "I have to get going, but I'll keep in touch."  
  
"Be careful, okay?," Liz said.  
  
"I will," he said. "Tell Caleb and Sarah I miss them and that I'll be home soon."  
  
After he hung up with Liz, he went into the kitchen where the others were. He took a seat next to Michael and bowled himself a bowl of cereal. Michael handed him the Tabasco sauce.  
  
"How's Liz?" Maria asked.  
  
"She's worried, but we all are," Max said. He looked at Isabel and Michael. "Should we tell them about the dream last night?"  
  
"What dream?" Maria said. She began to feed the twins as they sat in their high chairs. "Was it like a foreshadowing kind of dream?"  
  
"We had the same dream last night, the three of us," Max said. "The images are blurry now, but he was in it too. Jeremy….Zan."  
  
"Is there a connection?" Kyle said. "Maybe that's him trying to contact you."  
  
"Why would he want to contact me and Isabel?" Michael said. "It doesn't make any sense to me."  
  
"None of it does," Jim said. "I'm going to the office later. Maybe Jeremy's called again."  
  
"You do that," Max said. "I have my own investigation to do."  
  
  
  
"What are you writing?" Lindsey took a seat across from Jeremy in the diner booth. She handed him half of her bagel. "Another dairy entry?"  
  
"It's not a diary," he said. "It's a journal."  
  
Lindsey smirked. "Sure."  
  
He closed the notebook and started to doodle on a napkin. "What do you think is going to happen when I meet my parents?"  
  
"All I can say is don't expect a big reunion party or anything," she said. "No cake. No balloons. No piñatas."  
  
"Gee, that's cheerful."  
  
Lindsey gave him a sympathetic smile. "Your life isn't going to be only one that's going to change. Who knows about your parents? What if they have their own life now? With kids? Or what if they didn't even get together?"  
  
"I've already thought about all of that, Lindsey," Jeremy said. "I still don't know what to expect."  
  
They looked out the window and saw that the bus was preparing to leave. They got up and left the diner.  
  
A waitress walked to their table shortly after they had left and started to clean up their dishes. She found the napkin that Jeremy had been writing on. ZAN was written on it with black ink. She smiled and put the napkin in her pocket.  
  
  
  
"This place gives me the creeps," Isabel said as she crossed her arms across her chest. "What exactly do you expect to find here, Max?"  
  
Max searched the Pod Chamber. "For something, anything, that might help us."  
  
"We haven't been in here since you left Roswell," Michael said. "What makes you think we're going to find a clue in here?"  
  
"I know we got rid of the book and everything else, but there might be something that we missed," Max said as he continued to look.  
  
Michael and Isabel watched him, knowing there was no point to them searching the Pod Chamber.  
  
"Max, listen to me." Isabel reached for him. "We can't do anything until he finds us. We won't have any answers until he asks the questions, do you understand?"  
  
Max held back his tears and nodded.  
  
Isabel took him into her arms.  
  
  
  
"Good afternoon, Jim," Marshall said as the older man walked into the office. "What is that? Two visits in a week?"  
  
"I just wanted to check on that Gilbert case," Jim said. "Any news yet?"  
  
"His adoptive parents called and informed us that he was on his way to Roswell," Marshall said. "He must really want to find his biological parents."  
  
"What kind of information have you pulled for him?" Jim asked.  
  
Marshall handed him the files.  
  
Jim opened up the manila folder. Inside were a picture of Philip and Diane Evans, a picture of Max and Isabel, and another picture of Tess. There were current addresses for the Evans and Tess's last known residence. "Where did you get these?"  
  
"I have my ways, Jim." Marshall took back the folder. "Why the sudden interest in this case?"  
  
"The Evans and I were close friends before they moved to Florida," Jim said. "It was before you were transferred here."  
  
A young man walked into the room. "Detective Higgins, you have a phone call."  
  
"Excuse me, Jim." Marshall put the folder on the desk and stepped out of the room.  
  
Jim watched him leave and made sure no one was watching as he took the folder and hid it underneath his jacket.  
  
Eleven  
  
Maria put the twins down for their nap and joined Kyle and Jim in the living room. "So, what did you find at the office?" she asked Jim.  
  
Jim took out the manila folder and opened it. "Detective Higgins had all of these dug up." He showed them the pictures. "Now where do you think he got these from?"  
  
Maria picked up a picture Max and then the one of Tess. "These are from the yearbook." She passed them to Kyle. "But, they're at least fifteen years old. Does the high school keep the pictures on file?"  
  
"That's what I'm wondering," Jim said with a frown. "Or else these pictures are on file somewhere else."  
  
"Dad, our address is on this," Kyle said reading the file.  
  
Jim nodded. "I saw that too, but I don't think Higgins read the information on Tess yet, or else he would have mentioned it to me."  
  
Just then the phone rang. Maria went and answered it as her husband and father-in-law continued talking.  
  
"Maria?" Liz said. "Is Max there?"  
  
"No, they went out, but they should be back soon," Maria said.  
  
"So, how's it going? Any news yet?"  
  
"Roswell Investigations had a file on Max and the adoption, but Jim took it," Maria said. "We're looking it over right now."  
  
"Seems like I'm missing out on all the fun," Liz joked.  
  
Maria smiled. "Trust me, this is not fun."  
  
"I'm fixing dinner for Caleb and Sarah, but just let Max know I called and that I'll call again," Liz said.  
  
"Will do."  
  
"Thanks, and good luck with everything."  
  
Maria hung up and went back into the living room. Kyle and Jim looked up at them with worried expressions. "What's wrong?" she said.  
  
"We found something else," Kyle said as he handed her a piece of paper.  
  
Maria looked over the documentation papers. They were from a FBI investigation.  
  
1 SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR  
  
1.1 Isabel Evans  
  
Max Evans  
  
Michael Guerin  
  
Tess Harding  
  
Possible Accomplices: Maria DeLuca, Elizabeth Parker, Kyle Valenti, Alexander Whitman  
  
  
  
"I'm sure Jim found something that can help us, Max," Isabel said as they drove home from the Pod Chamber.  
  
"I know," he said. "I just feel…" He didn't know exactly what he was feeling.  
  
Isabel rested her hand over her brother's and gave him a small smile.  
  
"Come on," Michael said as he drove behind a bus. He was tempted to honk his horn to tell the bus driver to speed up. "We're in the middle of the desert. No one's going to give them a ticket if they go five over."  
  
"Just pass them, Michael, " Isabel said.  
  
Michael checked to make sure it was clear and passed the bus. He shook his head at the driver and sped away in front of it.  
  
  
  
Jeremy watched the sports car speed past the bus. He squinted to see who was in the car. Two men and a woman. He saw the car drive away, heading the same direction they were.  
  
"Hey, look." Lindsey pointed out the window.  
  
A billboard read: WELCOME TO ROSWELL  
  
Jeremy smiled. 


	3. Revelation

Twelve  
  
The sun was just setting the horizon as Jeremy and Lindsey got off the bus and set foot in Roswell. The sky was a mixture of pink, and green, and yellow.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" Jeremy said as he looked at the setting sun.  
  
Lindsey nodded. "We don't get sunsets like that back home."  
  
They got their bags and watched as the bus departed. This was it. There was no turning back. They looked at their surroundings. They were standing on a small street that was filled with a few restaurants, a gas station, a post office, and a market.  
  
"Where are we going to stay tonight?" Lindsey asked.  
  
"How about that place?" Jeremy pointed to a house on the corner. A sign was hanging from the porch.  
  
Connie's Bed and Breakfast  
  
"A bed and breakfast in New Mexico?" Lindsey laughed. "We have to check it out."  
  
  
  
"The FBI?" Isabel stared in disbelief at the documentation papers. "I can't believe this. Max, look at these."  
  
Max took the papers and looked them over. "These papers are more than twenty years old. The shooting at The Crashdown, Pierce, Whitaker, Tess's crash—it's all in here." He turned to Jim. "Thank you for getting these papers before anyone else saw them."  
  
"What now, Max?" Michael said. "Are we going to wait around until the men in the black suits show up at our door?"  
  
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit Max in the head. He fell to his knees and clutched his head.  
  
"Max?" Isabel knelt down next to him. "What is it?"  
  
Max gasped for air. "He's here. He's in Roswell."  
  
The next morning, Jeremy made his way downstairs for breakfast. Lindsey was already at the table chatting with Connie Morgan, the owner of the bed and breakfast. Connie was a pretty woman in her mid-thirties. Lindsey smiled at the sight of him.  
  
"Connie was just telling me about why she opened up the bed and breakfast," she said.  
  
"Don't let me stop you," he said as he grabbed a bagel.  
  
"I lived on the East Coast my entire life until I met Steven, and he got a job offer in New Mexico. I was young and in love so I moved with him." Connie took a bite of her toast. "Well, things didn't work out with him, but I fell in love with New Mexico so I moved to Roswell and decided to bring a bit of the East Coast here." She waved her hand. "And ta-da, Connie's Bed and Breakfast."  
  
Lindsey made a face. "Does everything have to do with love?"  
  
Connie smiled. "Unfortunately, yes."  
  
"Do you know the Evans family?" Jeremy asked.  
  
Connie thought about it. "I don't think so. I've only been in Roswell for a few years."  
  
Jeremy frowned.  
  
"I'm sorry," Connie said. "Is that why you're in town?"  
  
"I'm adopted," he said. "I found out that my parents are supposed to be in Roswell."  
  
Connie glanced at Lindsey.  
  
"I'm just here for the ride," Lindsey said.  
  
"Have you tried Roswell Investigations?" Connie said. "They're really good with this kind of stuff."  
  
Jeremy nodded. "I'm going there right after breakfast."  
  
Connie gave him a sympathetic smile. "I hope you find them. Family is the most important thing anyone can have."  
  
  
  
Max woke up from another nightmare. He had been having them all night. Isabel was sitting next to him with a damp washcloth. She wiped the sweat off his forehead.  
  
"What happened?" he said.  
  
"You were unconscious," Isabel said.  
  
"When did that happen?" Max tried to sit up in the bed, but weakly fell back onto the pillow. "I don't remember anything."  
  
"Do you remember what you said?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"You said he was here in Roswell," she said. "Zan's here."  
  
Michael walked in the bedroom. "How are you doing, Max?"  
  
"Zan's here?" Max said. "We have to find him." He tried to get out of bed again, but was unsuccessful. He felt completely wiped out. "What's happening to me?"  
  
  
  
Jeremy walked into Roswell Investigations and up to the front desk. "I'm looking for Detective Higgins," he said to the man behind the desk.  
  
"One moment." The man reached for the phone. "Detective, a young man is here to see you." He looked back at Jeremy. "Name?"  
  
"Jeremy Gilbert."  
  
"Jeremy Gilbert," he said to the phone. "Alright, sir." He put the phone down. "He's in his office. Last room on your right."  
  
"Thanks." Jeremy made his way down the hallway and entered the office.  
  
Detective Higgins ran a hand through his dark hair and turned to see Jeremy in his office. "Jeremy, nice to finally meet you." He extended his hand. "I hope your trip went by well."  
  
Jeremy shook his hand and sat down in a chair. "It did, thanks."  
  
"I have some good news and some bad news for you." The detective frowned. "Which one do you want first?"  
  
Jeremy shrugged. "The good news, I guess."  
  
"We found information on your parents," he said.  
  
Jeremy smiled. "Are they here in Roswell? Can I see them?"  
  
"Well, that's where the bad news is," the detective said. "The file seems to be missing."  
  
"Missing? What do you mean?"  
  
"We pulled up a file with pictures, history, everything, and now it's missing," he said. "I'm sure it was just misplaced. We've been swamped with cases."  
  
"But, is there anything that can help me?" Jeremy said worried. "I came all this way."  
  
Higgins wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "I can give you names."  
  
Jeremy mumbled a thanks and left the office. Outside the building, Jeremy read the paper.  
  
Max Evans, Tess Harding, try Jim Valenti  
  
He looked at the address and made his way to the Jim Valenti's home.  
  
  
  
Lindsey had to stop herself from laughing at the ridiculous décor of The Crashdown. Aliens, spaceships, the waitress's uniforms. She read over the menu and grinned. Green Martian Shake? A Will Smith? She shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"Are you ready to order?" a waitress asked. Her nametag read: Kathy. She was at least eighteen with short blond hair and blue eyes.  
  
"I guess I'll have a hamburger and fries," Lindsey said.  
  
"One Galaxy combo coming right up," Kathy said as she wrote it down.  
  
"Galaxy combo?" Lindsey said laughing. "Do you actually like working here?"  
  
"If it helps me pay bills, yeah, I do," Kathy said. "Where are you from anyway?"  
  
"How do you know I'm from out of town?" she asked.  
  
"This is Roswell," Kathy said. "Everyone pretty much knows everyone. I've never seen you around so, where are you from?"  
  
"Pennsylvania."  
  
"A little out West for you. What's the deal?"  
  
"I'm with a friend," Lindsey said. "It's personal."  
  
Just then, an older woman with shoulder-length dark blonde hair approached them. She was dressed in a white button down shirt and black slacks. "Kathy, are you getting her order ready?"  
  
"I was on my way, Mrs. Valenti," Kathy looked at Lindsey. "This is…"  
  
"Lindsey."  
  
"This is Lindsey," she said. "She's from Pennsylvania. Imagine that." She smiled at Lindsey. "I'll go get your order."  
  
"Are you the owner?" Lindsey asked.  
  
The woman nodded. "I'm Maria Valenti."  
  
"Well, it's a nice place." Lindsey took a sip from her drink. "So, did a U.F.O. really crash here?"  
  
Maria smiled. "What do you think?"  
  
"I think pop culture has taken a step too far," she said as she observed the restaurant again. "But, if society is willing to accept it, what can I say, right?"  
  
"Very perceptive," Maria said. "So, are your parents in town too?"  
  
Lindsey shook her head. "I'm actually here with a friend. He's on a mission."  
  
"What sort of mission?"  
  
"Well, it's a long story."  
  
Maria sat down across from her in the booth. "I have time."  
  
"My friend, Jeremy, well, he's looking for his biological parents in Roswell," she said. "He's at Roswell Investigations right now. Hopefully they can help him out." She played with her straw. "I just want him to be happy. The last thing he wants is a dead end."  
  
Maria smiled at her. "You truly are a good friend."  
  
  
  
Jim heard his doorbell ring as he walked into the living room. He answered it and saw a dark haired boy on the other side. "Can I help you?"  
  
"My name is Jeremy Gilbert and Detective Higgins said you could help me," he said.  
  
"Jeremy Gilbert?" Jim let the boy in. "You're looking for your biological parents, right?"  
  
He nodded. "The Evans. Did you know them?"  
  
Jim sighed. "They were a loving family. Philip and Diane, your grandparents, they moved to Florida awhile ago."  
  
"My father? Where is he?"  
  
"Right here."  
  
Jeremy and Jim turned to see Max standing in the kitchen. He was dressed in khakis and a dark shirt. He walked towards them hesitantly.  
  
"You're my father?" Jeremy said with tears in his eyes. "Is it really you?"  
  
Max nodded.  
  
Jeremy threw his arms around his father. Max slowly raised up his arms and embraced his son.  
  
  
  
Thirteen  
  
"So, he really is in town," Kyle said.  
  
Maria had just finished telling him about her conversation with Lindsey. They were standing inside The Crashdown after closing hours.  
  
"Yup," she said. "The thing is that I want him to find Max. He just wants to find his parents. Nothing about powers or anything like that."  
  
"Do I see a tear?" Kyle said smiling.  
  
Maria hit him on the shoulder playfully. "Shocking as it may seem, I do have a heart." She kissed him. "See?"  
  
"That's why I love you so much," he said giving her another kiss.  
  
Just then, the phone rang. Maria groaned and left Kyle to answer it.  
  
"Maria?" Jim said. "He's here. And so is Max."  
  
"We'll be right there," Maria said. She hung up and put on her coat. "Jeremy's with Max at Jim's."  
  
They quickly left The Crashdown and walked to Kyle's car. Maria noticed Lindsey sitting on the curb in front of Roswell Investigations.  
  
"I'll be back," she told Kyle. She went over to Lindsey. "Do you need a ride?"  
  
"I'm waiting for Jeremy," she said. "He should be back soon."  
  
"Come with me," Maria said. "I know where he is."  
  
  
  
Max couldn't look at Jeremy. The last time he had seen him, Jeremy was just an infant. Someone so small that he could hold him in his arms, and now, he was almost his own height. He had his dark hair, but his mother's fair skin and blue eyes.  
  
Jeremy watched Max as he stared out the window. How come he wasn't looking at him? Talking to him? Anything.  
  
"I know this is hard for you," Max said as he continued looking out the window. "But, I want you to know that when I put you up for adoption, it was for your best interest."  
  
"Why's that? Was it because you and my mother were still young?"  
  
He nodded. "That and because we knew we couldn't raise you together." Safely, he added to himself.  
  
"Where is she?" Jeremy asked. "My mother?"  
  
Max finally looked at him. "She passed away."  
  
Jeremy's eyes filled with shock and despair.  
  
"You were a still a baby when she died," Max continued. "It was a…it was a car accident."  
  
"Do you have any pictures of her? Anything?"  
  
"I'm sure Maria or Kyle do somewhere."  
  
"Can you tell me about her?" Jeremy's eyes were still filled with sadness. "What was she like?"  
  
Max took awhile to answer. "She loved you with all her heart." He paused. "And with all her soul." He looked back to the window. "She would have died for you."  
  
  
  
Kyle parked the car in the driveway. He saw a dark haired boy sitting alone on the front porch, smoking a cigarette.  
  
"Jeremy," Lindsey said as she got out of the car. "Put that damn cigarette out."  
  
He did what he was told and stood up. "My dad's in there." He looked down to the ground. "Do you want to go for a walk?"  
  
"But, your dad…"  
  
"I really need to talk," he said.  
  
Lindsey nodded. She turned to Maria and Kyle. "We'll be back." She and Jeremy made their way down the street. "So, you met your dad, huh?"  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
"That's okay, you don't have to say anything," she said.  
  
"He's married with kids," Jeremy said softly. "He lives in California and he works in real estate."  
  
Lindsey didn't know how to respond. "Oh."  
  
"And my mother died when I was a baby," he said, "in a car accident."  
  
Lindsey gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"I wanted to meet them both, you know?" He held back his tears. "Just to be able to see them together and tell them I was their son."  
  
"I'm sure she knows, Jeremy." Lindsey smiled at him. "I'm sure she does."  
  
  
  
"What did you say about Tess?" Michael asked.  
  
They were gathered in the living room. Max took a seat next to Michael and said, "I told him she died in a car accident."  
  
"He didn't say anything, right? Nothing about powers or anything?" Isabel said.  
  
Max shook his head.  
  
"So, he's completely human, then?" Kyle said.  
  
"I think so," Max said.  
  
"What about those dreams?" Michael said. "And those visions you've been getting? It got triggered because he's here."  
  
"That's not necessarily true, Michael," Isabel said. "It might not have anything to do with Jeremy."  
  
"I'm so confused right now," Maria said. "So, is he or isn't he an alien?"  
  
Just then, the front door opened. Jeremy and Lindsey walked in.  
  
"We're going to bed soon, Jeremy," Jim said. "Do you want us to make up the guest room?"  
  
He nodded. "Thank you."  
  
Jim, Kyle, and Maria left the room. Jeremy and Lindsey sat down on the couch.  
  
"Are you hungry or anything?" Isabel asked them.  
  
They shook their heads.  
  
"What do your parents do in Pennsylvania?" Isabel said. "They must miss you."  
  
Jeremy looked up at her with tired eyes. What he wanted were his parents here. The ones who had created him, the ones he had been searching for. He was breaking up inside. His father didn't want him and his mother was dead. He was angry, he was sad, he was…  
  
Suddenly, the glass in the grandfather clock shattered. Then, the glass figurines on the mantle, then the television set burst into flames.  
  
Jim ran back into the room with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. "What the hell happened?" he said.  
  
No one knew.  
  
  
  
"Jeremy?" Lindsey whispered in the dark.  
  
He stirred in the bed next to her. "What?"  
  
"Earlier when all those things exploded," she said.  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"You did it, didn't you?"  
  
He was silent.  
  
"It's okay, Jeremy," she said. "You can tell me."  
  
He was still silent.  
  
Thinking that he had fallen asleep, Lindsey rolled over and closed her eyes.  
  
Jeremy was still wide awake though. His eyes stared up at the ceiling, his mind filled with thoughts.  
  
  
  
Connie Morgan stepped out onto her front porch and sipped her ice tea. She breathed in the warm air and took a seat on the steps. She looked up into the night sky and smiled. There it was. The V-formation in the stars. A distant place, but it was still her home. And soon she would be able to go home. All of them would.  
  
She took out her cell phone and dialed a number.  
  
"He's here. They're all here."  
  
  
  
Fourteen  
  
In the middle of the night, Jeremy woke up from a dream. It was nothing like his previous ones, but he was still shaken up from it. Lindsey was sound asleep in the next bed. He quietly got out of bed and made his way downstairs, cigarette in hand.  
  
"He's asking questions, but they're normal ones." A soft voice was coming from the kitchen. Jeremy watched from a distance as Max talked on the phone to someone. "You want him to come home with me?" He listened to what the other person had to say and nodded every now and then. "I don't think it's a good idea, Liz. He has his own life and we do too." He finally looked up at saw Jeremy watching him. "Oh, I have to go. I'll call again." He hung up and smiled at his son. "Jeremy, what are you doing up?"  
  
"Couldn't sleep." Jeremy put the cigarette in his coat pocket. "I was going to go for a walk."  
  
"Want some company?"  
  
Jeremy shrugged. "Sure."  
  
Outside, the air was still warm. It was silent except for the sound of their footsteps.  
  
"Was that your wife on the phone?" Jeremy asked.  
  
"Yes, it was Liz," Max said.  
  
It was silent again.  
  
"Were you going to marry my mother if she hadn't died?" Jeremy asked. She thought about the pictures Maria and Kyle had dug up earlier from the attic. Tess was beautiful with long blond hair and blue eyes. There was a prom picture and it was amusing to hear that Kyle had taken her.  
  
"We were just really good friends," he had said to Jeremy.  
  
"Tess and I were, well, complicated," Max said. "I don't know how to explain anything to you." He put his hands in his pockets. "But, there's so much I do have to explain."  
  
Just then, a woman approached them. She was dressed in slacks and a long overcoat. She smiled at them with outstretched arms. "You found him."  
  
"Connie?" Jeremy said.  
  
"You found your father and now it's complete once again," Connie said.  
  
"What is?" Jeremy said.  
  
Connie looked up to the stars. "The royal four."  
  
  
  
"I'm on your side, Zan," Connie said as she took seat next to Max in the living room. "You can trust me."  
  
"I've heard that before," Maria said rolling her eyes. "The next thing you know you have evil aliens attacking you."  
  
"Oh, there's nothing evil about me." Connie smiled. "I was with Ava on Antar when she returned carrying her son."  
  
Maria raised her eyebrow. "Nothing evil, eh?"  
  
Jim walked into the room. "I told Jeremy that you would go talk to him afterwards," he said to Max.  
  
Max nodded. "It's better if he wasn't in here right now."  
  
"He has a right to know about his destiny, Zan," Connie said.  
  
"Don't say that word," Max said. "And my name is Max."  
  
Connie lowered her eyes. "She was right."  
  
The group looked at her curiously.  
  
"The queen was right," Connie continued. "She said you no longer knew your priorities. You had forgotten about your people."  
  
"Tess was a murderer!" Isabel stood up from her seat. "And she betrayed us!"  
  
"Ava didn't know any better," Connie said. "The same thing applies with you all. Nasedo made that pact with Kivar to ensure us that if the king failed, there would still be an heir. Ava was just following through with it because she saw that the king was failing."  
  
"I didn't fail," Max said softly.  
  
The silence in the room didn't agree with him.  
  
"Tess told us that Zan was completely human," Max said. "Is it true?"  
  
"No," Connie said. "Zan has powers also. After Ava gave birth to him, she couldn't hand him over to Kivar so she mindwarped him and his men into thinking that Zan was human so that they would send her back to Earth." She sighed. "Well, it worked. Ava came back expecting to find help, a place where her son could be safe." She looked around at the group. "Instead she found hostility and she was put on trial while her son was in danger."  
  
"How do you know all of this?" Max said.  
  
"Because I was there." Suddenly, Connie's dark hair became wavy and blonde. Her hazel eyes changed to blue. Her face changed before them.  
  
Gasps filled the room.  
  
Max could barely find his voice. "Tess." 


	4. Control

Fifteen  
  
Jeremy and Lindsey sat in the guest room, waiting for someone to come get them, waiting for someone to come talk to them, waiting…  
  
"What do you think they're talking about?" Lindsey said.  
  
Jeremy shrugged. "Something important enough that they had to lock us in this room."  
  
"You dad will explain things," she said. "And then everything will be okay." Even she didn't believe her own words.  
  
"I wonder what Connie has to do with any of this," Jeremy said. "Didn't she say she didn't know the Evans?"  
  
Lindsey nodded. "Maybe she just remembered who they were, I don't know, Jeremy. I'm beginning to not know a lot of things lately."  
  
Jeremy stood up and went to the door. He pressed his ear against the wood and tried to hear what they were saying in the other room.  
  
"Anything?" Lindsey said.  
  
He motioned for to be quiet and tried to hear their voices. Everything he heard though was muffled. "It's too hard to make anything out." He put his hand on the door. "I wish I could hear them better."  
  
"Jeremy!" Lindsey walked to him. "Your hand!"  
  
He looked down and saw that his hand was glowing green.  
  
  
  
The group didn't know how to react to the sudden appearance of Tess. Max got up from his seat and ran a hand through his hair. He blinked and looked again. She was still there.  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Kyle said.  
  
Tess looked at him. "Nice to be back too." She turned to Max. "Let me explain."  
  
Max turned away from her. "Our son is in the other room and he thinks you're dead. How are we going to explain that to him?"  
  
"We can start from the beginning," she said.  
  
"You're still a threat to all of us, Tess," Michael said. "We can't trust you."  
  
"I'm not asking any of you to trust me." Tess looked at the group. "But, please listen to me." Everyone was looking at her except for Max who still had his back to her. "We're in danger. Kivar is here."  
  
Suddenly, a loud explosion went off in the hallway. Everyone ran to it. Jeremy and Lindsey were standing in the doorway of the guest room. The door had been blasted from its hinges and blown across the hall.  
  
"Jeremy?" Max looked at his son. "What happened?" He glanced at Tess and saw that she was back in Connie form.  
  
"His hand," Lindsey said, "Look at his hand."  
  
Jeremy raised his left hand and Max looked at Michael and Isabel, worried. It was glowing green.  
  
  
  
Sixteen  
  
Max, Michael, Isabel, and Connie sat down with Jeremy in another room and closed the door. The four adults were facing Jeremy as he stared at his hand. It had returned back to normal, but there was still a tingling sensation.  
  
"What's wrong with me?" Jeremy said. His voice filled with fear.  
  
"Nothing is," Max said. "I think we should talk.." He looked at Michael, Isabel, and Connie. "We have to explain things to you."  
  
Jeremy leaned in to listen.  
  
Max sighed. "I'll start from the beginning, in 1947…"  
  
  
  
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Lindsey was impatiently sitting in the living room. "I mean, Jeremy busted that door opened. How did he do that?"  
  
"Calm down, Lindsey." Maria was holding one of the twins in her arms. "We all went through the hysteria."  
  
"What hysteria?" Lindsey's eyes were darting around the room. "What do you mean? You mean like insanity because that's how I feel right now. Like I'm losing my mind."  
  
Kyle handed her a glass of hot tea. "Drink this. It might help you."  
  
Lindsey took a sip. The hot liquid flowed down her throat and her body began to unwind. She closed her eyes and then opened them back up. "I'm sorry, but I really am confused. What are they talking about in there?"  
  
Kyle picked up the other twin and sat next to Maria. "I'm sure Jeremy's going to tell you soon enough, but he's an alien."  
  
Lindsey felt another headache coming on. "What did you say?"  
  
"An alien," Maria said. "He's an alien and so are Max, Michael, and Isabel."  
  
"And Connie? Is she an alien too?"  
  
Maria frowned. "Now, that's a little bit too complicated to explain right now."  
  
Lindsey looked at Jim. "Are they telling the truth?"  
  
He was rubbing his temples with his hands. "Yes."  
  
Lindsey burst out laughing. She was laughing so hard that her sides started to hurt and tears came from her eyes. "Oh, my god. I'm actually starting to believe it. You guys are good. Are you guys actors too?" She saw that the others were not joining in with her so she stopped laughing. "Come on. You guys can't be serious, right?"  
  
"Max's brought me back to life," Kyle said. "He did the same thing with Liz, his wife."  
  
"And me too," Jim said.  
  
"Max?" Lindsey said, "Jeremy's dad? He can bring people back to life?"  
  
They nodded.  
  
"What about you, Mrs. Valenti?" Lindsey said.  
  
Maria smirked. "I only dated one."  
  
Lindsey raised her hands to her head. "This cannot be happening to me."  
  
  
  
Jeremy watched as Connie transformed into Tess Harding right before his eyes. "He said you were dead." He looked at his father and back to his now resurrected mother. "He said you were dead." He didn't even recognize his voice anymore. He didn't know what was real now, and what was an illusion.  
  
"I'm alive, Zan," Tess said as she reached for him.  
  
Jeremy welcomed his mother's embrace with tears streaming down his face.  
  
"I want to show you something," Tess said. She took him to the window and pointed to the stars in the sky. "You see that V formation? That's our home."  
  
"Stop it." Max pulled Jeremy away from the window. "His life just changed with everything we told him. He doesn't need to know anything more right now."  
  
"But, I do want to know," Jeremy said.  
  
"Don't forget you're human too," Max said.  
  
Jeremy looked at his hands once more in awe. "I can't go back to Pennsylvania. Not after all of this. I have to stay here with you all."  
  
"This isn't right," Isabel said. "You don't belong in Roswell. You have a chance to be safe and…"  
  
"Normal?" Jeremy said. "I can't ever be normal again."  
  
"He's right, you know." Tess put a hand on her son's shoulder. "He has to stay with us now."  
  
"And what, Tess?" Michael said. "What the hell are we supposed to do? You kill a human, you betray us, you come back to Earth and put us in more danger, and then you fake your own death. What can we expect now from you?"  
  
"My alliance has always been with us," Tess said boldly. "I don't deny my mistakes, but…"  
  
"Killing Alex for own purpose didn't sound like a mistake," Isabel said. "And to be willing to hand us over to Kivar doesn't sound like one either. You knew what you were doing all along."  
  
"Stop it!" Jeremy faced Isabel. "Stop talking to my mother like that!"  
  
"You have no idea what she is," Isabel said.  
  
Tess pulled Jeremy away from Isabel. "I'm his mother."  
  
"I have to leave." Michael opened the door and stormed out.  
  
"Michael!" Max ran after him. "Where are you going?"  
  
Isabel went after them also.  
  
Lindsey watched them run out of the house. "What's going on?"  
  
Jeremy walked out the room with a blonde haired woman. It wasn't Connie. Lindsey gasped at the sight. "Jeremy, your mother."  
  
"Lindsey, meet my mother," he said with a smile.  
  
  
  
Seventeen  
  
"Michael!" Max caught up with him and stepped in front of him. "Talk to me."  
  
"What the hell are we doing, Maxwell?" Michael said. "Jeremy, Tess, what the hell is going on?"  
  
Isabel ran up to them. "I can't do this anymore. I have to go back to Santa Fe and be with Alex again."  
  
Max thought about Liz and their children. He had been gone for nearly a week now. A sudden pain hit his heart thinking of them. "I know," he said, "I miss Liz and the kids too."  
  
"We all have a life, Max," Michael said. "We can't let anything mess things up."  
  
Max glanced up into the sky. "We have two lives, Michael." He looked back at Michael and Isabel. "We can't have both."  
  
  
  
Maria was the only one awake in the house as she dialed Liz's phone number. Liz picked up after it rang a few times.  
  
"Maria? Is everything all right?"  
  
"Liz, you are so lucky you aren't here," Maria said.  
  
"Why? Where's Max?"  
  
"He's out, but I have to tell you something, and you might not like it."  
  
Liz waited for her to continue.  
  
"Tess is alive," she said, "And she's here."  
  
Liz almost dropped the phone. "No, it can't be. I saw the explosion that night."  
  
"You think you saw an explosion that night," Maria corrected her. "I don't like it either, Liz, but I think there's something more going on."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"There's going to be trouble," she said, "A whole mess of it."  
  
They talked for a few more minutes and hung up. Liz sat in the dark bedroom and thought about everything Maria had told her. She looked down at her round belly and picked up the phone again. She dialed a number and waited for the other line to answer.  
  
"Yes, I would like a one way ticket to New Mexico, please."  
  
  
  
Maria had been wrong about being the only one awake in the house. Jeremy listened as she walked up the stairs and shut the door to her room. It was quiet again. He went back to watching his mother sleep. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She smiled in her sleep. He was glad to see that she didn't have any nightmares like him.  
  
The front door closed and soft voices spoke downstairs. His father was back. He heard their footsteps as they went to their rooms. His door opened and Max walked in. "Jeremy?" he whispered.  
  
Jeremy got up and followed his father out into the hallway. "Is everything okay?"  
  
"Tomorrow morning, I'm taking you and Lindsey to the bus station," Max said.  
  
"No," Jeremy said.  
  
"I'll give you my address in California so we can keep in touch…"  
  
"No," Jeremy said again.  
  
"Jeremy, try to understand…"  
  
"I understand perfectly," he said. "You don't want me as your son." He raised his hand to Max and a green light blasted towards him. Max reacted quickly and blocked the light with a shield.  
  
"Don't do this," Max said. His shield was weakening. Suddenly, the green light ripped through it and hit Max, sending him flying across the hall. He hit the wall and slumped to the ground.  
  
Doors opened. Tess ran to her son. "What did you do?"  
  
Kyle was leaning over Max. "He's unconscious."  
  
Michael and Isabel looked at Jeremy, shocked. Where did he get all that strength, all that power, to knock Max unconscious?  
  
  
  
Eighteen  
  
"Excuse me, miss? Is this seat L-2?"  
  
Liz looked up at the woman and nodded.  
  
"Thank you." The woman sat down in the plane seat next to Liz. She was in her fifties with graying hair and green eyes. In her hand, she held a small briefcase. She noticed Liz staring at it. "I'm going to a business trip to Santa Fe."  
  
"Oh." Liz smiled at her.  
  
The woman returned her smile. "What about you, sweetie?"  
  
"I'm going to see my husband," she said.  
  
The woman looked at Liz's pregnant belly. "Your first?"  
  
"This will be my third."  
  
"Congratulations."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
The woman opened up her briefcase and started to do some work. Liz looked out her window. This morning she had dropped the kids off at Serena's and went to the airport. She didn't say much to Serena except that she would be back in a few days. She hoped that's all it took for her and Max to come back home.  
  
  
  
Max woke up with the bright sun in his eyes.  
  
"Don't try to move, Max." Isabel was sitting in a chair next to his bed. "You're hurt."  
  
Max felt the pain throughout his entire body. "I know."  
  
"How did Jeremy get so powerful?" Isabel asked. "He hasn't learned how to use them and then suddenly, he's blasting you across the room."  
  
"Believe me, I didn't expect it either," he said. "Where is he?"  
  
"He's outside, I think he wanted to be alone."  
  
"And Tess?"  
  
"She's with the others in the living room."  
  
"Good," Max said, "I don't want her out of my sight."  
  
There was knock on the door as Maria walked in. "Do you need an aspirin or something?"  
  
"No, thanks," Max said. He placed his hand on his chest and it glowed green for a few minutes. Then, the pain was gone. He got up from the bed and put on his shoes.  
  
"Of course," Maria said, "I should have known."  
  
  
  
Jeremy finished smoking his cigarette just as Michael walked outside to the front porch. He turned his eyes away from him and out to the street.  
  
"Don't you know smoking is bad for you?" Michael said as he sat down next to him.  
  
"So is alien DNA," Jeremy said.  
  
Michael smiled.  
  
"I don't know what happened last night," Jeremy said. "I got angry and the next thing I knew, my dad was unconscious. I can't believe I did that to him."  
  
"You have to learn how to control your powers." Michael thought about how he had to control his own powers and how dangerous he could have been if he hadn't learned to handle them. He didn't want to the same thing to happen to Jeremy. "Or else your powers will control you, you understand me?"  
  
Jeremy nodded.  
  
Just then, Max walked outside. Michael got up. "I'm going back in." He left the father and son alone on the porch. Max took Michael's seat.  
  
"I'm sorry," Jeremy said.  
  
"It's okay," Max said, "You were upset."  
  
"Is that what's going to happen every time I get upset now?" Jeremy said. " I blast people across the room?"  
  
"Your body is changing, and it's growing," Max said placing a hand on his son's back. "You are responsible for what you do with it."  
  
"I don't think your talking about puberty, right?"  
  
Max smiled. "I wish it was that simple, Jeremy."  
  
"About last night…"  
  
"I said it was okay."  
  
"No, before that," Jeremy said, "You were going to send me back home. I don't want to go back. You're here, and so is my mother. Why would I want to go back?"  
  
"Because you have parents back home too, and they love you, and they want to be with you," Max said. "I can't make you give that up."  
  
"But, they're not my real parents." Jeremy was craving another cigarette again. "You don't get it."  
  
"I get it, Jeremy, I do." Max thought of his own parents. How their adoption and love was a blessing. How he and Isabel kept their secret to themselves so that they wouldn't be in any danger. How their acceptance meant everything to him.  
  
The front door opened and Tess walked out. "Is everything all right?"  
  
Max stood up and walked past her. "Fine." He opened the door and went inside.  
  
Tess didn't let his coldness affect her. "So, what did you guys talk about?"  
  
"Why doesn't he want to be with you?" Jeremy asked.  
  
Tess was surprised with the question. "Your father?"  
  
Jeremy nodded. "He's supposed to be with you, right?"  
  
Tess thought about it. "I can't make him love me though."  
  
  
  
"Another refill?" the stewardess asked holding a pot of coffee.  
  
The woman shook her head as the stewardess left their section of the plane. She glanced at the young woman beside her, who was sleeping. She was married to him. How could he have done this to them? To his people? Marry a human? Start a family? The woman looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to her as she took out a small computer chip, the size of a fingernail, and placed it on the younger woman's hand as it laid on her belly. It began to melt and dissolve into her skin. The woman smiled.  
  
  
  
Liz woke up just as the plane was landing in Santa Fe. She stretched and looked out her window at the approaching airport.  
  
"Nice nap?" The older woman next to her smiled. "I can never get comfortable on planes."  
  
"How long was I out?" Liz asked.  
  
"Oh, I would have to say at least three hours."  
  
The plane came to a smooth landing and the passengers proceeded to the exit. As Liz and other woman walked into the airport's lobby, she said to Liz, "Have a nice stay in New Mexico."  
  
"You too," Liz said as she parted ways with her.  
  
The woman watched Liz turn the corner and then went to the women's restroom. It was empty. She looked in the mirror and her gray hair turned to blonde, her wrinkles disappeared as her skin turned flawless, and her business attire changed to jeans and a sweatshirt. She smiled at her new reflection and left the restroom 


	5. Truth

Nineteen  
  
Jim placed the manila folder on Marshall's desk just as the detective walked into his office. "Good afternoon, Jim," he said. "Anything I can help you with today?"  
  
"I talked to the Gilbert boy and he said the office lost the files for his case," Jim said, "Is that true?"  
  
"Unfortunately, yes." Marshall sighed. "I have no idea where they could have gone."  
  
"Well, if you cleaned your desk…" Jim motioned to Marshall's cluttered desk. "Maybe you would find it."  
  
Marshall started to straighten out the papers and files. "I understand, but lately, all of these cases have been coming in, and…" He stopped as he picked up a folder with the name GILBERT on it. "Well, look at this. I found it."  
  
"Didn't I tell you?" Jim said.  
  
"You never should have retired, Jim," Marshal said with a smile.  
  
"It feels like I never did," Jim said.  
  
A yellow taxicab pulled up to the Valenti's driveway. Maria grinned at who she saw come out. "Liz!" She ran out of the house and into the arms of her friend. "I can't believe you're here."  
  
"I had to come," Liz said. "Where's Max?" She looked up to see him walk out of the house. A mixture of joy and surprise was apparent on his face.  
  
"Liz?" He took her into his arms to make sure she was there. "You don't know how dangerous it could have been for you."  
  
"I'm here, aren't I?" She kissed him. "Oh, god, I missed you." She kissed him again.  
  
Max took her bags and walked her inside the house.  
  
"We should turn our home into a hotel, honey," Maria told Kyle.  
  
Jeremy and Tess walked into the room. Liz tensed up at the sight of Tess. She forced a smile on her face. "You must be Jeremy."  
  
The young man nodded.  
  
"And Tess," Liz said. She cast her dark eyes on the blonde woman.  
  
"I'll explain later, Liz," Max said.  
  
"No, it's okay," Liz said. "I'm sure there's still more explaining to do."  
  
Max went to put her bags away. Liz walked past Tess and stopped. "Don't worry, I won't blast you," she said softly so that only Tess could hear her.  
  
"Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you," Tess said.  
  
Liz took a seat on the couch. "You guys can fill me in later, but what's going on now? What kind of trouble are we in?"  
  
All eyes turned to Tess.  
  
"Kivar is here," she said, "on Earth. He's bought some of his men with him."  
  
"The end of the world," Liz said. "It's starting."  
  
Max walked back into the room. "What's starting?"  
  
"Max, remember when I told you about how a future version of yourself came to see me?" Liz said. "He told me that the world was going to end in 2014."  
  
"That was four years ago," Michael said. "What does that have to do with us now?"  
  
"Something happened that threw it off," Liz said. "Something like…"  
  
"Jeremy," Tess said. She turned to look at her son. "Your conception, your birth, it never was supposed to happen."  
  
Max began to understand. "Your existence changed the entire course of history, Jeremy. The future that I was supposed to be living in 2014 never happened because…" He glanced at Tess and then at Jeremy. He didn't finish his sentence.  
  
"Kivar doesn't know we're together," Tess said. "He thinks we've given up, that this our weakest moment so he's going to attack soon."  
  
Isabel looked at Max. "How can we stop this from happening? We don't even have a place to start."  
  
"I do," Tess said.  
  
  
  
"His name is Dennis Wilson," Tess said. "He's come and visited me in the Bed and Breakfast a few times." She sat in Michael's car with Max, Michael, and Isabel across the street, away from the small white one-story house. They watched as the man watered his flowers. Dennis Wilson was dressed in slacks and a white button down shirt. He had a hat on and a pair of sunglasses. He appeared to be in his late-thirties.  
  
"He moved to Roswell last summer, and he's been asking questions," Tess continued. "A lot of questions like about the investigations in 1947, and in 2002."  
  
"He could just be the president of some sci-fi group," Michael said. "That doesn't mean he knows anything."  
  
"That's what I thought, but a few weeks ago, he came in to see me with a huge gash on his hand. He said he got it from gardening," Tess said. "A few days later, he came in again and the cut was gone. There wasn't even a scar."  
  
"So, you're saying he healed himself?" Max said.  
  
Tess nodded. "Or else, he knows someone who could have healed him."  
  
The others were still skeptical. "We can's accuse this man without any evidence," Isabel said.  
  
Tess looked at her. "I just told you…"  
  
"We'll come back some other time," Max said. "Lets go."  
  
Michael turned the keys in the ignition and drove away.  
  
  
  
Liz scratched her left hand as she sat in Maria's kitchen. It felt like a bug had bitten her.  
  
"Are you all right?" Maria asked handing her glass of lemonade and sitting down next to her. "Do you need to lay down or anything?"  
  
"I'm fine." Liz took a drink of her lemonade. "Where did Jeremy and Lindsey go?"  
  
"For a walk." Maria frowned. "That poor kid. All he wanted was to find out who his real parents were."  
  
"He did, Maria."  
  
"Well, how was he supposed to do that his parents were aliens?" Maria looked at Liz's round belly. "Oh, no. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I mean you and Max have healthy children. There's nothing to worry about."  
  
"But they can never be like Sky and Lily, right?" Liz said referring to the twins.  
  
Maria glanced into the living room where her children were playing in the playpen. "If you're talking about being normal, they do have Valenti blood in them so I don't know about that."  
  
Liz smiled.  
  
"I really am glad to see you here." Maria reached over to her friend's hand. "It wasn't going to be the same without you." She noticed the small red bump on Liz's hand. "Do you want some ointment for that?"  
  
  
  
Lindsey didn't object as Jeremy took out a cigarette and lit it. After all that happened to him recently, he deserved to smoke an entire pack. They found a park and sat down at a picnic table. No one else was in the park, probably because it was still early in the afternoon.  
  
"So, is this like the mafia now?" Lindsey said. "I take this secret to my grave?"  
  
Jeremy didn't react to her statement.  
  
"Come on, Jeremy." Lindsey gave him a small smile. "Talk to me, please."  
  
He blew smoke in the air. "All my life, I knew I was meant to do more. It all makes sense now." He put out his cigarette. "I know what I have to do."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Stay in Roswell and fight."  
  
  
  
Twenty  
  
Marshall Higgins walked up to the Valenti's door and knocked on it. Jim walked out and smiled at him. "Hello, Marshall. What can I do for you?"  
  
"Is Jeremy Gilbert still staying with you?" he asked.  
  
"Sure is. Are you delivering the files to him?"  
  
"I was wondering if I could have a few minutes with him," Marshall said. He waited for Jim to invite him in.  
  
Jim motioned him inside. "Jeremy?"  
  
The young man entered the room and shook hands with the detective. "Mr. Valenti says you found the files."  
  
"Yes, and once again, I apologize for misplacing it in the first place," Marshall said. "If we could have a few minutes alone…"  
  
"I'll be in the kitchen." Jim left the room.  
  
Marshall and Jeremy sat down. The detective opened the files and pulled out the pictures. "This is your father, Max Evans, when he was sixteen." He smiled. "You look very much like him." He pulled out another picture. "This is your mother, Tess Harding, at the same age. There wasn't much information on her. I only managed to find yearbook pictures." He took out forms and papers. "Your father is living in California with his wife. I believe he has a family. As for your mother, it's like she disappeared from the face of the planet. Her last known whereabouts were in Roswell nearly fifteen years ago."  
  
Jeremy pretended that he was hearing all of this for the first time. "So, you're saying my mother might not be alive?"  
  
Marshall nodded. "I'm sorry, but I managed to get your father's phone number." He handed him a piece of paper. "I hope that helps."  
  
"You've done more than help, detective," Jeremy said. "Thank you."  
  
"I'll keep the file at the station." Marshall stood up and walked to the door. "Will you be staying in Roswell any longer?"  
  
"I might," Jeremy said.  
  
"Well, have a good day, Jeremy," he said, "And tell Jim I said good bye."  
  
"Detective?"  
  
Marshall turned around.  
  
"Was there anything else?" Jeremy said. "Did you find anything else out about my parents?"  
  
"No, this is it."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Marshall smiled at the boy and left the house.  
  
  
  
The bedroom door opened and Jim let everybody out of the room. "That was close," he said.  
  
Lindsey wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I thought I was going to suffocate in there with all those people."  
  
"It's a good thing I put my car in the garage," Michael said.  
  
Max helped Liz into the living room. "Did he say anything, Jeremy?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nothing."  
  
Max looked at Jim. "Thank you."  
  
  
  
A few nights later, Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess were parked outside Dennis Wilson's house once again.  
  
"You ready?" Max said to Tess.  
  
She nodded and changed into Connie. She got out of the car and walked to Dennis's door, where she rang the bell. A few moments later he answered it and let her in.  
  
"Can we trust her, Max?" Isabel asked.  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
  
  
"Did you want anything to drink?" Dennis asked. "I wasn't really expecting company so all I have is coffee here."  
  
"No, thank you," Tess said. "I just wanted to come over and chat with a friend."  
  
"Oh, of course, a friend," he said.  
  
It was apparent that Dennis had feelings for Connie. Tess smiled and used that towards her advantage. She brushed her hand against his. "So, Dennis, are you still living in your fantasy world where aliens exist?"  
  
"Well, Connie, I have been doing more research," he said, "Would you like to see?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
He went into his bedroom and Tess began to search the living room. She opened drawers quickly, looked behind books, checked cabinets. She opened a drawer and saw that it had a false bottom. Inside were at least twenty bottles of lotion and some sort of transmitter.  
  
"I would have thought that a member of royalty would know the meaning of privacy." Dennis was standing behind her. "Your highness." He mockingly bowed to her.  
  
"You're a Skin," Tess said.  
  
Dennis laughed. "Well, now that you know the truth, you don't have to hide behind that disguise anymore." He hit Tess in the face.  
  
Tess looked back at him as a small trail of blood formed at her mouth. Her hair was back to blonde and her eyes blue.  
  
"That's better." Dennis smiled. "Now where are the others? They can't be too far away."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tess said.  
  
He raised his hand again to strike her when suddenly a green light hit him in the chest sending him flying across the room.  
  
Tess looked to the door and saw Max, Michael, and Isabel. Max lowered his hand and went to her. "Are you all right?" She nodded and turned to face Dennis. She raised her hand to him.  
  
"No." Max put her hand down.  
  
Michael pulled Dennis to his feet. He was out cold.  
  
"He's a Skin," Tess said wiping the blood of her mouth. "He probably knows where Kivar is."  
  
"We'll get our answers," Michael said.  
  
  
  
Dennis opened his eyes and it was pitch black. "Take the blindfold off."  
  
"We want answers," Max said.  
  
"Take the blindfold off," Dennis said again.  
  
Max took the blindfold off. Dennis saw that he was in the middle of the desert. His hands and feet were bound with rope. He looked at the four faces surrounding him. "So this is the amazing Royal Four?" He smirked. "Pathetic."  
  
"We're not the ones tied up," Michael said.  
  
Dennis shrugged. "I seem to have more power in this situation, Rath, for it is I who knows what Kivar has planned."  
  
"Tell us what you know," Max said.  
  
"It is not that easy," Dennis said as he looked at his watch, "Because in exactly one minute, I will self-destruct."  
  
"What?" Max stared at him. "How?"  
  
"I activated it at my home," Dennis said. "I'm sorry I can't stay and answer your questions, but I am glad to have been able to meet you all before Kivar puts an end to your existence."  
  
Max grabbed Dennis by his shirt collar. "You will tell us what you know right now!"  
  
"I will leave you with this." Dennis smiled into Max's angry face. "Kivar, your enemy, he's one of your own."  
  
"Max, we need to go!" Isabel said. "We have thirty seconds."  
  
Max threw Dennis back to the ground. "There are more of us, Zan," Dennis said, his smile had turned into a grin. "My death doesn't mean a thing."  
  
"Max!" Isabel grabbed his arm and dragged him away from Dennis.  
  
The four of them ran to the car just as the world behind them exploded. 


	6. 2018 Movie Trailer

1 Thank you to everyone for reading! And for the positive reviews!  
  
Here is something I did for fun. Enjoy!  
  
If anyone is interested, I also made a "cover art" for 2018 at http://www.sphosting.com/blueskies/2018.jpg  
  
Charlie Hunnam will play Jeremy  
  
Scarlett Johansson will play Lindsey  
  
(Their pictures are in the fanart listed above)  
  
2  
  
3  
  
4  
  
5 2018 Movie Trailer  
  
FADE IN:  
  
VO: Destiny is at their door again.  
  
(scenes of Max, Michael, and Isabel now)  
  
VO: It's been sixteen years and someone is looking for them.  
  
(shot of Jeremy talking to his adoptive mother about Roswell, and then him on the bus)  
  
VO: He's not the only one.  
  
(shot of Dennis in the desert "Kivar, your enemy, he's one of your own.", and shots of the shapeshifters)  
  
CUT TO:  
  
Explosion in desert  
  
Michael and Beth in the office  
  
Jeremy blasting Max  
  
Max and Liz kissing  
  
VO: A reunion.  
  
(shot of the group at the Valentis)  
  
VO: A revelation.  
  
(Max "Tess.", and a shot of her.)  
  
VO: A war.  
  
(scenes of bright lights, alien blasts, etc.)  
  
CUT TO:  
  
Frames of the actors and their names:  
  
SHIRI APPLEBY  
  
JASON BEHR  
  
MAJANDRA DELFINO  
  
EMILIE DE RAVIN  
  
BRENDAN FEHR  
  
KATHERINE HEIGL  
  
CHARLIE HUNNAM  
  
SCARLETT JOHANSSON  
  
WILLIAM SADLER  
  
NICK WECHSLER  
  
WITH  
  
ADAM RODRIGUEZ  
  
FADE OUT then FADE IN:  
  
Liz: The end of the world. It's starting.  
  
CUT TO:  
  
ROSWELL: 2018  
  
FADE OUT then FADE IN:  
  
Michael: "Welcome back."  
  
CUT TO:  
  
COMING SOON.  
  
FADE OUT 


	7. Closer

Twenty-One  
  
"What do you think it is?" Jim looked over the metal object that Max had retrieved from Dennis Wilson's house.  
  
"We were wondering if you would you know," Max said.  
  
Jim frowned. "Kyle and I could check this out."  
  
"No problem," Kyle said.  
  
"Tess said it could be a transmitter," Max said, "Maybe it was being used to communicate with other Skins or even Kivar."  
  
Jim nodded and looked at his son. "Do you have your tools in the garage?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Lets try to see if we can get this thing working," Jim said. He and Kyle left for the garage with the metal object.  
  
Max went to one of the bedrooms where Liz was sleeping. He sat on the bed and stroked her cheek. He didn't want to show it, but he was scared. Dennis's last words echoed in his mind.  
  
"Kivar, your enemy, he's one of your own."  
  
Liz's eyes slowly opened. She smiled at him. "Max."  
  
"Go back to sleep."  
  
She started to sit up. "No. I want to know what happened."  
  
"He was a Skin," Max said. "He had some sort of transmitter. Jim and Kyle are trying to figure out what it is."  
  
"Oh, Max." Liz grabbed his hand. "Are you all right?"  
  
He nodded. "Are you?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Max leaned over and kissed her. He wanted Liz to stay that way, and he would do whatever he had to do to keep her safe.  
  
  
  
Jeremy handed his mother a bag of ice. She placed it on her lip to keep the swelling down.  
  
"I wish I was there," he said. "I would have taken care of that guy for you."  
  
Tess reached for his hand. "You don't have to be the hero."  
  
"I have powers and I want to fight with you."  
  
She shook her head. "Jeremy, no."  
  
"I could have done something to that thing so that he wouldn't have hurt you." Jeremy looked away. "Why didn't he do anything to stop it?"  
  
Tess thought about when Dennis had hit her, the blood dripping from her mouth. The next thing she knew, Dennis had flown across the room, and there he was. Max.  
  
"What could you have done?" she asked.  
  
Jeremy still wouldn't look at her.  
  
She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face to hers. "What could you have done?"  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
"Now you know why you can't fight with us," she said.  
  
  
  
Kyle watched as his father struggled to figure out what the metal object was. "Dad, it's hopeless."  
  
"Nothing is hopeless." Jim reached for a screwdriver.  
  
"Do you really think a screwdriver is going to open up an object from another planet?" Kyle said.  
  
"Just hand me that wrench from the table," Jim said sternly.  
  
Kyle raised his hand and the wrench levitated to him. He handed it to his father.  
  
"Kyle…"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Why do still use your powers?" Jim asked. "Didn't Maria say something about it?"  
  
"It freaks her out," Kyle said, "But I only do it when she's not around." He sat down on the workbench. "Don't you use yours?"  
  
Jim shook his head. "My powers were very minimal. Not as powerful as Liz, and not as lasting as yours. The only thing I could ever do was warm up my TV dinners without touching the oven."  
  
Kyle smiled. "So that's why you come here for dinner now? No more powers to heat up dinner, huh, Dad?"  
  
Maria walked into the garage with the cordless phone. "Kyle, the garage is on the phone."  
  
"I'll be back," Kyle said to Jim as he went back inside the house.  
  
Jim went back to the transmitter. He didn't want to admit it, but none of the garage tools were helping. He looked over the object and noticed a sort of outlet on the side. He suddenly got an idea.  
  
  
  
Twenty-two  
  
Jesse stared out his office window. The busy street underneath him, the clouds in the sky—he saw none of it, only Isabel. She hadn't called in three days and he was getting worried. She had told him about Max's son, Tess's sudden reappearance, and the possibilities of danger she might have to face. How could she do this to her family? To him and Alex?  
  
"I have my other family too," she had told him. Of course, she was talking about Max and Michael. The life she had lived in Roswell.  
  
"Jesse?"  
  
He looked up to see another lawyer, Larry Adams, in his doorway.  
  
"Come in, Larry."  
  
"I have a huge favor to ask," Larry said as he walked in. "Can you mail out these files for me tonight? I would, but I have to pick Michelle up from school and send her to the airport for her concert."  
  
"The band, right? They're going to California?" Jesse said.  
  
Larry smiled. "They made it to the National Finals."  
  
"That's great." He reached for the files. "Sure, I'll send them out. What are they?"  
  
Larry handed it to him. "They're heading for Roswell. Looks like the investigations down there wanted us to do some research on FBI papers."  
  
"FBI, huh?" Jesse looked at the envelope that had CONFIDENTIAL stamped on it. "I'll be sure it gets sent out."  
  
"Thanks, Jesse." Larry left his office.  
  
Jesse closed his door and looked down at the envelope. It was addressed to Detective Marshall Higgins. Isabel said that was the man's name that was working on Jeremy's case. He ripped it open and read over the documentations. His eyes filled with alarm. "Isabel." He went to his phone and quickly dialed her cell phone number.  
  
  
  
"Are you scared?" Lindsey asked Jeremy as they sat on the Valenti's front porch. "It's okay if you are because I am. The end of the world, who would have thought that it would happen in our lifetime?"  
  
"It's not going to happen," Jeremy said. "My parents will take care of it."  
  
"I don't really know my Antarian history, but they couldn't save their own planet," she said. "How are they going to save ours?"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Jeremy, but it's true."  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about." He stood up and started to walk away. He lit up a cigarette and he knew Lindsey was going to say something about it. "Don't start!" He took a drag.  
  
Lindsey sighed and watched him go.  
  
"Where is he going?" Tess said as she walked outside.  
  
"I think I hurt his feelings," Lindsey said. She looked at the petite woman. "Is everything going to be okay?"  
  
Tess lowered her eyes.  
  
"You can tell me the truth," Lindsey said, "I can handle it, I mean, after all I found out, I can handle anything."  
  
Tess only gave her a small smile, reached over and squeezed her hand, and went back inside.  
  
  
  
"I can't believe those papers still exist," Isabel said on her cell phone. "You have to get rid of them, Jesse."  
  
"I will, Isabel," he said. "Just be careful."  
  
Isabel hung up with her husband and sighed. Max approached her with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Jesse," she said, "He found some papers."  
  
  
  
After hanging up with Isabel, Jesse reached for the file again. He didn't want to even think about what would have happened if these papers did get sent to Roswell.  
  
Isabel Evans-Ramirez  
  
Paranormal Activity: Video Evidence, now Damaged or Destroyed  
  
Relation to other suspects: Max Evans (sister), Michael Guerin (acquaintance), Tess Harding (acquaintance) May still be in contact with Elizabeth Parker, Maria DeLuca, and Kyle Valenti; note: Alexander Whitman (deceased) possible connection?  
  
All of these documentation forms. All of these names.  
  
Jesse turned on the paper shredder.  
  
  
  
Jeremy found himself in the park. He sat down at a table and stared down into the green paint. He reached for another cigarette and searched for his lighter when a flame suddenly appeared before him.  
  
A teenage girl was standing next to him with a lighter in her hand.  
  
"Thanks," he said as he lit his cigarette on her lighter. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"  
  
"I had a math test today," she said. "You?"  
  
"I'm visiting my parents," he said.  
  
"Not from around here?"  
  
He smiled. If only she knew. "Pennsylvania, actually."  
  
"Cool." She lit up her own cigarette. "Can I sit down with you?"  
  
He nodded. He looked the girl over. She was pretty, looked like a cheerleader. She had long blond hair and blue eyes, and she was dressed in jeans and a tight T-shirt.  
  
"I'm Anna," she said.  
  
"Jeremy."  
  
"So Jeremy, you don't live with your parents or something?" Anna asked.  
  
"Or something."  
  
She smiled. "Very funny. No, really, I want to know."  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
"Well, did you ever have the feeling where you thought you knew who you were and what you were going to do in life," Jeremy said, "And the next thing you know, you have no idea who you are and what you're doing."  
  
Anna laughed. "I'm a teenager. What do you think?"  
  
Jeremy smiled. It felt good being around someone who had no idea who he really was. Someone he could talk to and not worry about evil aliens or the end the world. "You have a nice laugh," he said.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He reached over and placed his hand over hers. He looked into her blue eyes. All of a sudden, he started to lean over and his face was getting closer and closer to hers. He looked down at their hands and then quickly pulled back. In his hand, he held a sticky substance. The skin on her hand was peeling, shedding. "What the hell…"  
  
"Weren't you going to kiss me?" Anna said laughing. Her laugh didn't sound so nice anymore.  
  
"You're one of those things!" He raised his hand to her. "Get away from me!" A shot of green light sped towards Anna, hitting her. He ran out of the park and then turned back around expecting to see her right behind him.  
  
He was alone.  
  
  
  
Twenty-three  
  
Max and Michael were gathered around Jim as he showed them in his idea. On a table, he had the metal transmitter; next to it was a computer laptop.  
  
"You see this outlet?" Jim pointed the side of the metal object. "Looks like it connects to something." He reached for the cord to the computer laptop. "And it looks like this."  
  
Max took the cord and connected it to the transmitter. It fit perfectly. "Files maybe?"  
  
Before Jim could say anything, the front door burst open. Jeremy ran inside, out of breath and scared. Max went to him. "What's wrong?" he said.  
  
"I saw one of them," Jeremy said, "Those things—a Skin."  
  
Tess ran into the room and took him into her arms. "Did it do anything to you?"  
  
He shook his head. "I blasted it and then I ran."  
  
"You used your powers in broad daylight?" Max said sternly. "Jeremy…"  
  
"He was protecting himself, Max," Tess said. She stroked her son's hair. "Come on. You need to lay down." She led him to the bedroom. Max started to follow, but Tess turned to him and said, "No, Max."  
  
"They're here," Michael said. "The Skins and Kivar, they're here."  
  
Max went back to Jim. "Tell me what this thing does."  
  
  
  
Maria and Liz sat in The Crashdown drinking milkshakes. Liz was listening to Maria as she talked about Sky and Lily. Her thoughts were somewhere else. She was thinking about Max, Caleb and Sarah, her future, the child she was carrying.  
  
"Liz?" Maria waved her hand in front of her best friend's face. "Where did you go?"  
  
"Back to California with Caleb and Sarah sleeping safely in their beds and Max next to me," she said smiling.  
  
"Oh, I'll let you go back there then." Maria looked at her sympathetically. "Liz, I hate seeing you like this."  
  
"I hate all of this," Liz said. "Do you know how many times I've thought about that day I was shot? What if Max wasn't there? What if we had never met? What if…." She paused. "What if I had died?"  
  
"No," Maria said. "Don't even say that."  
  
"I think about these things, Maria." Liz sighed. "Our involvement in all of this, I mean, our lives being in danger, Alex, my children's entire future; I could have walked away from all of this."  
  
"Liz, you had a choice," Maria said, "And you picked Max because you love him. You would have never left him."  
  
Liz smiled. "I know."  
  
Maria looked at the clock. "Well, I need to start closing. Are you going to be okay?"  
  
She nodded. "I should be going back soon."  
  
They got up and hugged. Maria went into the back room as Liz put on her coat and stepped outside. She went to the car just as a tall man approached her. He showed her a badge. Detective Marshall Higgins, it said. "Excuse me." She froze.  
  
"Can I help you, sir?" she said.  
  
"I suggest that you move your car," he said as he pointed to the Tow- Away sign. "I wouldn't want you to get a ticket."  
  
Liz sighed with relief. "Oh, of course. Thank you."  
  
"Have a good day," the detective said as he left.  
  
Liz closed her eyes, thinking of how close that could have been. She opened them back up and got into her car.  
  
  
  
Max watched the computer screen as Jim played with the keyboard. The images were strange filled with symbols and words. Michael and Isabel stood behind them as they worked on it.  
  
"Anything?" Isabel asked.  
  
"More symbols," Max said frustrated. "It looks like the they're from the alien book."  
  
"We can't translate that," Michael said, "So, how can we know what's it talking about?"  
  
"Wait a minute," Jim said. He leaned closer to the computer screen. "Look at this."  
  
Another image was coming up. Red blinking lights appeared on a map. Jim hit some keys on the keyboard and it zoomed into a map. "Look at this one." He pointed to one that seemed to be a map of Roswell. "You think it was Dennis Wilson?"  
  
"He's gone," Max said. "I don't he would still be activated."  
  
"Maybe it was the one that Jeremy saw," Isabel said.  
  
The red light was glowing brighter and it seemed to be heading in their direction.  
  
"Max?" Isabel looked up at him. "It's coming here."  
  
They looked up to the front door and everyone gasped.  
  
"Did you get it to work?" Liz asked as she walked inside. 


	8. Power

Twenty-four  
  
Lindsey quietly walked into the room where Jeremy was laying down. He was wide-awake in bed as his mother slept in a chair in a corner. He turned to her and then went back to staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Can you talk?" she asked.  
  
He was silent.  
  
"Well, you can listen, at least." She sat down next to him. "About before, when I asked if you were scared, well, I think you are. You can be afraid. You're still human. You're still Jeremy. But at the same time, you're this alien prince." Jeremy showed no emotion or reaction. "I just want you to know that you're still my best friend. And let me say that not many people would have stayed after finding out all of this alien stuff." She looked into Jeremy's eyes. "Jeremy?" She leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek when he turned his face and their lips met. She pulled back, surprised. Jeremy smiled at her.  
  
Tess stirred in her chair and opened her eyes. "Lindsey?"  
  
"Oh, hi." Lindsey quickly stood up. "I was just leaving."  
  
"No," Tess said as she went to the door, "Watch Jeremy." She left them alone.  
  
Lindsey sat back down on the bed and took Jeremy's hand into hers. "You know I love you, right?"  
  
Jeremy nodded. "I love you too."  
  
She climbed into bed with him and placed her head on his shoulder. Jeremy soon fell asleep.  
  
Tess walked into the living room. To her left, Max, Michael, Isabel and Jim were at the computer and transmitter. To her right was Liz standing at the front door. "What's going on?"  
  
"Get away from Liz!" Michael motioned her to move. "She's a Skin!"  
  
"What?" Liz looked at them with confusion. "Max?" She moved towards her husband.  
  
Max looked at the computer screen and watched as the red light came closer to him. "Stay away."  
  
Liz stopped. "Oh, my god, Max. Tell me what's going on."  
  
"This transmitter traces all the Skins," Max said, "And right now, it says you're a Skin."  
  
"That's not true." Liz looked desperately at them. "I am not a Skin. I'm your wife, Max."  
  
No one said anything.  
  
Liz frantically looked at everyone. Her eyes stopped at Tess. "It's a mindwarp. Tess is doing something to make you think I'm a Skin."  
  
Tess's mouth dropped open from shock. "How dare you accuse me of mindwarping them?"  
  
"It's not a mindwarp," Max said. "You were being traced even before you walked in here."  
  
Liz felt the tears appear. "Please believe me, Max. I'm Liz." She moved towards him again. "Max? You believe me, right?"  
  
He looked at her and took her into his arms.  
  
"Max!" Michael tried to pull him away from Liz. "What the hell are you doing?"  
  
Max looked at him. "I believe her."  
  
  
  
They were back. The dreams, the nightmares. Jeremy felt someone next to him. It was his mother. She whispered in his ear, "Don't look behind you." But he didn't listen; he turned and screamed.  
  
  
  
"Jeremy?" Lindsey shook him to wake him up from his dream. "Wake up, Jeremy."  
  
He awoke suddenly. "He was here."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"I need to get out of here." He got up and put on his coat. "Are you coming?"  
  
"Where?" Lindsey said as she got up.  
  
"Anywhere but here." He went to the window. "Come on."  
  
Lindsey looked at him hesitantly. "Your parents…"  
  
"We'll be fine." Jeremy opened the window, offering her his hand. "Are you coming?"  
  
She took his hand.  
  
  
  
Max and Liz sat alone in the kitchen. He held her hands and watched Liz as she cried.  
  
"I believe you, Liz," he said, "I already said that."  
  
"No, you don't." Liz looked away. "You doubted me, and that's enough to make me know that you don't believe me."  
  
"Then, why am I here now?" He squeezed her hands. "I love you, Liz."  
  
"But that thing says I'm your enemy," Liz said.  
  
"But my heart says you're my wife," Max said.  
  
Liz wiped away her tears and embraced him.  
  
  
  
Tess watched Max and Liz embrace. She had heard them talking. Enemies and wives can be two very similar things, she thought. It didn't matter if Max did believe Liz; something was going on.  
  
"We need to go back to Dennis Wilson's place," Michael said looking at the metal transmitter. "Maybe there's something there that can help us figure out this thing."  
  
"I'll go too," Tess said.  
  
Michael and Isabel looked at each other, wondering if she could still be trusted. "Fine," Michael said. He went into the kitchen to talk to Max and then came back out. "Max's staying with Liz."  
  
"Lets go," Tess said.  
  
"I'll work with it a little bit more," Jim said.  
  
"Okay," Michael said, "We'll call if we need anything."  
  
  
  
"Wow. That's some amazing stuff," Lindsey said as they sat in the park. Jeremy had just finished telling her his dream. "What did you see that made you scream?"  
  
Jeremy shrugged. "I woke up before I could see it." He looked around at the surrounding darkness.  
  
Lindsey sensed his fear. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?"  
  
"I can name a few reasons."  
  
"You can go home, Lindsey," Jeremy said. "Get on the first bus to Pennsylvania. I'll understand."  
  
"I'm not leaving you," she said.  
  
"It's too dangerous, please, go."  
  
"I'm not going."  
  
Jeremy sighed. "I don't want anything to happen to you."  
  
"I'm safe with you."  
  
Suddenly, a bright light hit the ground next to them. A small group of people was walking towards them. One of them raised his hand and a bright light blasted towards them, knocking them down. Jeremy looked over at Lindsey; she appeared to be unconscious. Jeremy struggled to get up, but couldn't. The Skins were now standing over them.  
  
  
  
Twenty-five  
  
Tess looked over the mess in Dennis Wilson's house. They had searched the place after coming back from the desert and now her, Michael, and Isabel were exploring every corner again. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "This is getting us nowhere."  
  
"We must have missed something," Michael said. He opened up a drawer.  
  
"You already looked in there," Tess said.  
  
He slammed it shut. "No one told you to come, Tess."  
  
"I came because I want to help," she said, "This is my fight too."  
  
"I never wanted to be a part of this," Michael said. He ran his hands through his hair. "Do you think I enjoy this? I mean, look at us. Isabel has Jesse and Alex back in Santa Fe. I have a wife. Max has Liz and children…"  
  
"You don't think I know how you feel?" Tess felt her anger growing more and more. "I have a son, whose life is in jeopardy. I have been running and hiding my entire life…"  
  
"Do you expect us to feel sorry for you?" Michael said, "Because I feel nothing, but disgust."  
  
Suddenly, the television set exploded. Tess and Isabel jumped at the sight.  
  
"Michael!" Isabel stared at him. "Calm down!"  
  
He sat down and put his hands to his head. "I'm sorry."  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
They looked up to see Max standing in the doorway. He saw the television set. "What's going on?" he said again.  
  
"I lost my temper," Michael said.  
  
"Michael…"  
  
"I know, Max, it won't happen again."  
  
"How's Liz?" Isabel said, changing the subject.  
  
"She was sleeping when I left," he said. "Did you find anything?"  
  
"No," Isabel said.  
  
"Did you check on Jeremy?" Tess asked.  
  
"I told Maria and Kyle to look after him until we came back," Max said.  
  
"How's Jim doing with the transmitter?" Isabel said.  
  
"It's tracking something," he said, "We just don't know what yet."  
  
  
  
Jim played with the buttons again. The same images appeared on screen, more strange symbols and red blinking lights.  
  
"Any luck, Dad?" Kyle asked sitting next to him.  
  
"Same thing," he said, "Over and over, the same symbols."  
  
"Lets just hope Max finds something that can translate this," Kyle said.  
  
Maria walked into the room with two glasses of Coke. She handed them to Jim and Kyle and sat next to them. "Take a break."  
  
"I think I'm pretty close to finding out what this thing exactly does," Jim said as he stared at the symbols and the red lights. "It was tracing Liz so maybe it has something to do with her powers."  
  
"Then, why aren't you and I being traced?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Do you think she's bugged or something?" Maria said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Jim said.  
  
"Liz has this red bump on her hand," she said. "It looks like a mosquito bite, but it's still there."  
  
"How could she have a bug on her?" Kyle asked, "I mean, why would anyone want to be following her?"  
  
"That's easy," Maria said. "She's married to Max."  
  
  
  
Jeremy opened his eyes and saw darkness. He felt sand beneath him. He was in the desert. He immediately thought of Lindsey and tried to move, but he couldn't. His mouth was taped shut and his hands were tied with rope behind his back. Someone walked out of the shadows. It was a tall man with light colored hair and eyes. He smiled at Jeremy.  
  
"Prince Zan," he said.  
  
Jeremy's eyes darted across the desert land. He looked for anything, anyone that could help him.  
  
"No need to be afraid," the man said. "Let me introduce myself so we can become friends. I am Sedrick, Kivar's second in command." He looked Jeremy over. "You look just like your parents." A smirk slowly formed on his face. "And your fate will be the same as your parents."  
  
Jeremy tried to talk, but it came out in muffled sounds. Sedrick ripped off the tape.  
  
"Fuck you," he said.  
  
Sedrick shook his head and laughed. "I like your attitude." He put the tape back on Jeremy's mouth. "You know, I can continue on my spiel on world domination, but I won't." He started to pace in front of Jeremy. "Your mother was very clever on tricking us into thinking that you were completely human. I guess she does have a heart. That won't work in politics." He paused and looked at him. "But, enough of this chit-chat." He turned to someone.  
  
Lindsey walked up to them. Jeremy tried to say something, but once again, the tape prevented him from speaking. She went to Sedrick and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well done, Sedrick." Sedrick bowed to her.  
  
Jeremy watched out of confusion as she approached him. She placed her lips on his, kissing him gently and whispered, "Do you still love me?" She put her hands on his chest and a bright light appeared. Jeremy fell to his knees out of pain and weakness. Lindsey smiled and felt the electricity flow through her. "That feels good, but I'm not done yet." She raised her hands and another bright light illuminated from them and shot up the sky, vanishing above the horizon.  
  
  
  
"Lets go back to Jim's and see if he's figured out anything," Max said as they prepared to leave Dennis Wilson's house. "There's nothing here for us."  
  
As they walked out, a bright light hit the four of them. It had appeared out of nowhere. They collapsed to their knees, feeling as though they had been hit with a baseball bat.  
  
"What was that?" Michael said as he tried to stand back up; it was unsuccessful. "I feel wiped out, like…"  
  
"Try using your powers," Max said.  
  
Michael raised his hand to a vase. He concentrated on it, envisioning it to shatter into pieces. Nothing. No sensation in his hand. No green light. Nothing. "What the hell.."  
  
Tess raised her hand to the vase also. Her results were the same as Michael's. "Oh, my god." She looked at the three. "Our powers have been stripped from us."  
  
  
  
Twenty-six  
  
Jeremy watched as four green rays of lights emerged from the darkness and dissolved into Lindsey. She opened her eyes and they were glowing a fiery green. "You didn't know I could do that, huh?" She motioned for Sedrick to take off the tape. "I bet you have some questions."  
  
After Sedrick took off the tape, he couldn't find any words. He only stared at his best friend, or was she still his best friend?  
  
"Fine, I guess I have to do all the talking," Lindsey said. "My name is Kivar. I chose this form because I knew no one would ever suspect me of taking the form of a human female. I was right. I was under your parents' noses the whole time and they never even considered me as their enemy."  
  
"I grew up with you," Jeremy said, "And your parents…"  
  
"I moved to Langston, knowing you were there," she said, "And my parents are just Skins. They're on my side."  
  
"What did you just do?" Jeremy glanced into the sky. "Those lights?"  
  
"There is still so much you don't know." She started to levitate off the ground. "All of these powers that you don't know of." She raised her hand as it started to glow a white light. "But, now you will never know what kind of powers you could have had." She came back to solid ground. "Because I have taken your powers away, and your family's."  
  
"No, that's impossible," he said.  
  
She smirked. "Oh, is it?" She raised her hand and a green shield appeared between them. "Look familiar?"  
  
Jeremy remembered it from the night he had blasted his father. It was the same shield he had used to protect himself. He lowered his eyes. Fear swept through his body.  
  
"Isn't this what you all wanted?" Lindsey said. "To be human? To be normal? I've given it to you; you should be grateful."  
  
"You won't get away with this," Jeremy said.  
  
Lindsey laughed. "I've already had."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, my god."  
  
Maria and Kyle walked over to Jim as he sat in front of the computer screen. "What is it?" Kyle asked.  
  
"The files, look at them," Jim said. The symbols were disappearing from the screen as well as the red lights. "The files are erasing themselves."  
  
"How is it doing that?" Kyle said.  
  
Jim frowned. "No idea."  
  
"Maybe it's self-destructing itself, like that Dennis guy," Maria said, "Maybe it knows you're not the owner of this thing."  
  
Just then, there was a knock on the front door. "Who can that be?" Jim said. He went to answer it. There was a woman standing before him. She smiled. "Is Elizabeth Parker here?"  
  
Liz walked out to the living room and saw the woman. She gasped. "What are you doing here?"  
  
  
  
"We need to get back to Jim's," Max said.  
  
"And then what?" Isabel said.  
  
They quickly got into Michael's car.  
  
"We just need to regroup," Max said.  
  
"We don't have any powers, Max," Michael said, "We're in trouble."  
  
"Don't you think I know that?" Max stared out his window. "Maybe Jeremy still has his."  
  
"I don't want you using Jeremy," Tess said.  
  
Max looked at her. "What do you suggest then?"  
  
Suddenly, Michael slammed on his brakes. The car in front of them had done a sudden U-turn and was now speeding towards them.  
  
"Michael, watch out!" Isabel said as Michael tried to steer out of its way.  
  
Their car came to a complete stop as well as the other one. Four figures came out and approached them.  
  
"Someone would like to see you," a dark haired man said.  
  
The four of them got out of the car. "Who?" Max said.  
  
"You have to come with us," the man said.  
  
"What if we don't?" Max said.  
  
The man raised his hand and blasted Michael, knocking him down. "You have no choice."  
  
Max and Isabel helped Michael back up and followed the others.  
  
  
  
"She sat next to me on the plane down here," Liz said to Jim, Kyle, and Maria. She turned to the woman. "I still don't understand why you're here."  
  
"I put a tracking device in you so that I could find you," the woman said. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know how else I could find Zan and the others."  
  
"Why are you looking for Max?" Liz asked.  
  
"The queen enlisted our help a few years ago. She wanted us to find her son and husband—I mean, your husband," she said. "We're a group of shapeshifters who are also from Antar."  
  
"Can you tell us what's going on?" Jim said, pointing to the metal object. "Do you know what this is?"  
  
"It's a communicator that the Skins were using with each other," she said, "They also used it to track down shapeshifters that were against them." She looked at Liz. "The tracking device is very similar to the one I used on you."  
  
"It's useless now," Jim said. "The files erased themselves."  
  
"We don't need it," the woman said, "We need the son."  
  
"Jeremy?" Liz said. "He's sleeping."  
  
"I'll get him," Maria said leaving.  
  
"And the others?" the woman asked, "Are they here?"  
  
"They went somewhere to investigate," Kyle said. "Why?"  
  
"I don't think we have much time until Kivar attacks," she said.  
  
Maria ran back into the room. "Jeremy's gone."  
  
  
  
Twenty-seven  
  
In his dream, Jeremy was walking along a lake, but it wasn't blue. It was darker, almost black. He turned to see his parents walking with him. This was he wanted. This was what he always wanted.  
  
"Get up." Rough hands woke him up. Sedrick dragged him to his feet. "They're here."  
  
He looked up and saw his mother and father being escorted towards him as well as Michael and Isabel.  
  
Tess cried out at the sight of her son. "Jeremy!"  
  
Lindsey, or Kivar, smiled at them. "Welcome."  
  
"Lindsey?" Tess said.  
  
"It's Kivar," Jeremy said.  
  
The four were shocked at the revelation.  
  
"And guess what?" Lindsey raised her hand to a car and the windows shattered. "I also took your powers. Cool, huh?"  
  
"What are you going to do?" Max asked.  
  
"So many answers for one small question." Lindsey sighed. "First of all, admit defeat. Hand over the throne to me."  
  
"Never," Max said.  
  
Lindsey shook her head. "Don't you get it? I've stripped you off your powers. You're free. You can live here and be normal. I can go back to Antar and take my rightful place as king."  
  
"Not before you kill us," Tess said.  
  
"Well, you got me there," Lindsey said smiling. "I don't understand it. On Antar, you were The Royal Four, a force to be reckoned with. Now, you're all nothing." She looked at Max. "A king who now sells real estate." Then, at Isabel. "A princess now on the verge of becoming a single mother." She faced Tess. "A queen who has no allies; your own husband no longer loves or trusts you." Then, Michael. "I won't even start on you." She turned to Jeremy. "You wanted to know where you came from, well, now you know. Are you proud of who you are?"  
  
"Is it time yet?" Sedrick asked.  
  
"Be patient," Lindsey said. "There is no hurry." She started to levitate off the ground. "No one can stop us now."  
  
  
  
"There's been a sighting of unidentified lights in the desert just pass the freeway," the woman said as she got off her cell phone. "I need to go and investigate it."  
  
"Before you go, thank you," Liz said, "For your help, I mean."  
  
"It is my duty," she said, "The same duty your husband has."  
  
"I know," Liz said. "I don't even know your name."  
  
"Call me Abby." The woman smiled and headed to the door. "I will call with any news."  
  
After she left, Liz turned to the others. "We need to find Max and them and let them know Jeremy's missing."  
  
"What if they're together?" Maria said, "Maybe they found each other already."  
  
"I can't sit here while Max is out there," Liz said, "Who knows what else is out there with them?"  
  
"Abby warned us of the danger," Maria said, "Look at you, Liz. You can't do anything."  
  
"Maria's right," Jim said. "We better stay here until she calls."  
  
  
  
They watched as the lights grew brighter. Gold, blue, green, white—they all surrounded Lindsey as she floated a couple feet above the desert ground. Her eyes were closed as she let the energy grow inside her. "The power. There's so much power."  
  
"Look at the sky," Isabel said.  
  
The V-formation was shifting. 


	9. Restoration

Twenty-eight  
  
Abby had seen the lights in the sky a few miles away as she drove down the deserted highway. She parked the car a couple of feet away and walked over the group. She changed her appearance to a young African- American man in jeans and long sleeve shirt. No one seemed to notice her as came upon the group. She stood next to a man. Everyone was mesmerized by the young girl who was floating in the air. Her eyes were closed as the lights swam around her.  
  
A tall man with light hair and eyes looked at the group. "It has begun. Earth and Antar will be ours. Kivar is now invincible." His eyes looked at the Royal Four. "With their powers gone, they are nothing."  
  
The young girl opened her eyes. "You are wrong, Sedrick."  
  
He looked at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"They are what they always wanted to be," she said. "Human. Normal."  
  
"You think this is a gift?" Max said.  
  
"No," she said, "I think of it as a blessing. Your suffering will be over soon. Everyone's will be." The lights were growing brighter as she started to ascend higher into the sky. "With your powers combined within me, I can do anything." Suddenly, a heavy wind appeared. Sand blew around them. "You took your powers for granted, and now they have some purpose." She raised her hand and blot of lightening went speeding towards town. "Why waste it?"  
  
Abby slowly moved out of the crowd and quickly went back to her car. She dialed a number on her phone. "We need everyone now."  
  
  
  
The sound of screams made Jim open his front door. Outside, a large fire could be seen downtown. "What is going on?"  
  
Maria and Kyle came to the door. "Oh, my god," Maria said. "What happened?"  
  
Just then, the phone rang. Liz answered it and was relived to hear Abby's voice on the other end. "Abby, did you find out anything?"  
  
"Kivar has them all," she said, "All five of them. She's stripped them of her powers and now she's going to use their own powers to destroy everything."  
  
"Where are they?" Liz asked.  
  
"In the desert," Abby said, "I'm on my way back to you now. I have help coming, and I want you, Jim, and Kyle to stay there. You three are going to be very important."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'll explain when I get there."  
  
Liz hung up and went to the front door. "Kivar has them."  
  
"Oh, my god, Liz." Maria took her into her arms. "What else did she say?"  
  
"They don't have their powers anymore." Liz started to cry. "They're going to die."  
  
"No," Jim said, "Don't say that. No one is going to die." But even he sounded skeptical.  
  
  
  
The four of them stood side by side. Max looked at them and a wave of sorrow swept over him. Michael's eyes were lowered to the ground, as if he was silently mediating, or maybe he was praying. Isabel had tears coming down her face as she watched Kivar in the sky. Tess held Jeremy close to her as she watched Kivar also. Max watched as Jeremy turned to him. His eyes seemed to look inside him, and it felt like he was saying it was okay, that everything was going to be okay. He gave his a son small smile, something for him to remain hopeful.  
  
Suddenly, a blast of green light hit Kivar sending her falling to the ground. All heads turned to the group of people who had emerged out of nowhere.  
  
"Who dares to challenge me?" Kivar said, her eyes filled with anger.  
  
A young man stepped up. "The Oran People, followers of King Zan, keepers of peace."  
  
"King Zan no longer exists," Kivar said, "You now are under my rule."  
  
"I don't think so," the man said as he raised his hand again. Another shot of green light hurled towards Kivar.  
  
The other behind him started to raise their hands and more green blasts were shot towards Kivar and the Skins.  
  
A man ran to the five of them. "Come with us." He led them away from the fight and towards safety.  
  
"Thank you, Simon," Tess said.  
  
"It is my duty," he said, "For the King and Queen and their royal family."  
  
"How do you know him?" Jeremy asked.  
  
"I enlisted their help a few years ago," Tess said. "The Oran People are a group of shapeshifters from Antar."  
  
"We have to go," Simon said. "Abby is with them now."  
  
"Who's Abby?" Max asked, "Who is she with? Liz?"  
  
"There's no time to explain, we just have to…" Suddenly, Simon was struck down with a green blast. Sedrick was coming towards them.  
  
"Leaving so soon?" he said with a sneer.  
  
  
  
Twenty-nine  
  
No one could believe it. Lindsey was Kivar. Someone they never suspected. Someone they had taken in and trusted.  
  
"Poor Jeremy," Maria said, "She was his best friend."  
  
Abby frowned. "Now she's his worst enemy."  
  
"What do you want us to do?" Kyle asked.  
  
"The queen informed us that you three had been healed by Zan," Abby said, looking at him, Liz, and Jim. "Therefore, you obtained some of your own powers."  
  
"We can't fight these things," Jim objected.  
  
"That's not the point," she said. "I want you to use your powers to help them gain back their powers."  
  
Liz began to think about Max, and how this what she always wanted, for Max to be normal, human. With his powers gone, he could be that, and they could be safe. Now she also knew without his powers, Kivar would kill them. His powers were a part of him. It would always be. "How is that possible?" she asked.  
  
"Join hands."  
  
The three did as they were told.  
  
"Now focus of them," Abby said. "Focus on your energy. Allow it to flow freely. Allow it to find them so that they can have their powers back."  
  
They sat in silence for a moment. Nothing was happening.  
  
"It's not working," Kyle said.  
  
Abby thought about it and then joined in the circle. "There's not enough energy. There's five of them, and only three of you." She looked up at Maria. "Please."  
  
Maria shook her head. "I don't belong in this club."  
  
"You have power also," Abby said. "Your energy can help."  
  
Maria reluctantly stepped in the circle, taking Liz's hand and Kyle's.  
  
Abby smiled at them. "The circle is now complete."  
  
  
  
They watched as Sedrick came closer. "Your failure has been my pleasure," he said.  
  
"It's not over yet," Michael said.  
  
Sedrick raised an eyebrow. "I beg to differ."  
  
Kivar ran to them. "I am going to enjoy killing you all again." She raised her hand to them. A bright green light raced to them.  
  
Max raised his hand and the green shield appeared, blocking the blast.  
  
Kivar was shocked. "That's impossible!"  
  
They stared in amazement at Max's resurrected shield.  
  
"Our powers are back," Isabel said.  
  
  
  
"Don't let go," Abby said.  
  
Their hands were still joined together, glowing. A surge of energy filled the room as they concentrated on what they were doing.  
  
"Don't let go," Abby said again.  
  
  
  
Kivar looked at the five of them with a mixture of rage and fear. "Sedrick, get the others!"  
  
He glanced back at the ensuing battle between the Skins and Orans. "But…"  
  
"NOW!"  
  
Sedrick left them.  
  
"You think you can defeat me?" Kivar said as she paced. "I defeated you before; it can easily be done again."  
  
"It's different now," Max said. He glanced at Jeremy. "Everything is different now."  
  
Kivar laughed. "If you're talking about Junior there, I don't think so. His powers haven't even fully developed yet."  
  
Jeremy raised his hand, blasting Kivar, sending her down on her back. "Do you want to take that back?"  
  
Kivar got back up, ego unhurt. "Like I said, I don't think so."  
  
"This ends tonight, Kivar," Max said. "The war is over."  
  
Kivar glared at them. "Not if I can help it." She started to levitate. A small ball of fire appeared in her hands. "It's just beginning." She threw the ball of flames at them.  
  
  
  
Thirty  
  
"Do you think this is working?" Liz asked.  
  
"Just keep on concentrating," Abby said. "I can feel their energy coming back. Their essence is growing. They're becoming stronger."  
  
"I need to know for sure," Liz said. "Is this working?"  
  
"Oh, my god," Maria said in disbelief. "Look."  
  
In the middle of the circle, an image had appeared. It showed the Max and the others, huddled near each other in the desert. Kivar was floating before them. In her hand, she held a small ball of fire. They watched as she suddenly hurled the ball at them  
  
Liz watched in horror. "Max!"  
  
  
  
Isabel quickly raised her hand and the ball of fire vanished into smoke. Kivar made another fireball.  
  
"No!" Max raised his hand and the fire extinguished in her hands. The other four raised their hands. The intensity of their powers made Kivar fall from the sky. They could see that she was weak, but she was not giving up. She stood up and looked at Jeremy with a disoriented expression. "Jeremy? What's going on?"  
  
They looked at her, puzzled at her sudden change. "Lindsey?" Jeremy said. "Is that you?"  
  
She nodded. "Why? What's going on?" She touched her head. "I have the hugest headache." She extended her hand to him. "Please help me."  
  
Jeremy stepped forward, but Tess held him back. "It's a trick."  
  
"What if it really is Lindsey?" he said. "What if Kivar had possessed her? We beat him; he's gone."  
  
"No, Jeremy." But, it was too late. Tess watched as he suddenly grabbed Kivar's hand. Jeremy fell to his knees as Kivar grabbed his head and once again tried to absorb his powers. Tess raised her hand and blasted Kivar. Jeremy fell to his side.  
  
"It's too late," Kivar said, "He's dead."  
  
Tess raised her hand again. "You're the one who's dead." Another blast hit Kivar, sending her down. Tess ran to her son as well as the others. "Jeremy! Answer me!"  
  
Jeremy remained still.  
  
"Heal him, Max," Tess said desperately. "Bring him back!"  
  
Max kneeled down next to Jeremy's body and placed his hands on him. A warm current of energy flowed through his body, through his hands, and onto his son. Jeremy began to glow green, but then suddenly, Max was blasted back as an electrical shock from Jeremy's body pushed him away.  
  
"What is it?" Tess asked.  
  
"His body," Max said, "It's rejecting my powers."  
  
"How is that possible?" Isabel said.  
  
They watched as Jeremy's body began to levitate off the ground. A ray of light emerged from his chest; it was so bright that they had to shield their eyes. Jeremy's eyes flew open. "We are fighting a war. We are the rulers of Antar." His voice didn't even sound like his own; it was more deeper, more mature. "Tonight holds the meaning of our lives. It is our destiny to be here." He looked at the four of them. "Take a hold of each other's hands, and do not let go."  
  
Max looked at Tess, Michael, and Isabel as he reached out for them. They held hands and formed a circle. Max looked back up at Jeremy.  
  
"In each other's hands, and in each other's eyes, you all hold the future," Jeremy said. "The war ends right now, and that is worth dying for." He blasted a light towards them and they cried out in pain as the energy poured inside them.  
  
Thirty-one  
  
Beneath them, the land was dry. Above them, the sky was clear. They looked at each other as if they were meeting for the first time, but they knew each other. They knew each other well. They were holding hands in a circle.  
  
"We are fighting a war," the king said. "We are the rulers of Antar." He looked upon his queen and his sister and his second. "Tonight holds the meaning of our lives. It is our destiny to be here." He looked at their hands. "Together we complete the force. Apart we are nothing." He looked into their faces. "Do not let go because in each other's hands, and in each other's eyes, we all hold the future. The war ends right now, and that is worth dying for."  
  
  
  
The pain stopped.  
  
Max opened his eyes and saw Kivar standing up. He stared at his enemy. "The fighting ends tonight when we defeat you."  
  
Kivar smiled. "Don't be too sure about that."  
  
The four of them joined hands again. Suddenly, the sky opened up and a radiant light appeared. A bolt struck the ground in the middle of the circle, transmitting beams of lights into them. The light crackled inside, taking them over. The earth started to move, as the light grew stronger and brighter.  
  
Kivar watched as everything before her disintegrated into the light.  
  
  
  
Thirty-two  
  
"Max." He saw Isabel standing over him. Michael was too. "We did it. We beat Kivar." He got up on his feet and looked around the desert. It was silent. Kivar and the Skins were gone. The Oran group approached them with smiles.  
  
"I knew you could do it," a woman said.  
  
"What happened?" Max asked.  
  
"Your powers, your essence from the past, present, and future combined together, created an energy so powerful, it destroyed your enemies," the woman said.  
  
"Max?" Tess was kneeling next to Jeremy's body. "Jeremy…he's…he's not moving."  
  
He went to his son and placed his hand on him. A tear rolled down his cheek as Jeremy continued to remain still. Then, Tess placed her own hand on Jeremy. They waited. Soon after, a green light emerged from their hands and Jeremy slowly opened his eyes. He smiled at the sight of his mother and father looking over him. He thought it was another dream, but he knew it wasn't because he was finally happy. They helped his son up.  
  
"What happens now?" Max asked the Oran people.  
  
"Peace is now restored," the woman said. "We can go back to Antar."  
  
Max looked at the others hesitantly.  
  
The woman raised her hand and a portal opened. "Regain your throne. Just come home with us." The Oran people looked at Max, waiting for an answer.  
  
"No," Jeremy said. "We're not going."  
  
Max looked at his son, surprised at his response.  
  
Jeremy looked at Max, Tess, Michael, and Isabel. "We're already home."  
  
The woman nodded. "Very well then." She motioned for the Oran people to enter the portal. "Your destiny has been fulfilled. The war is over." She stepped forward into the portal and it closed up, leaving them in the dark.  
  
Just then, their eyes turned the horizon. The sun was coming up.  
  
  
  
Thirty-three  
  
After Abby left them, all they could do was wait. Liz stared out the window, hoping to see Max and the others walking up the street.  
  
"Liz?" Maria sat down next to her. "Did you want to lay down?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Please, Liz, you need rest…"  
  
She turned to Maria. "I need Max."  
  
"They're back," Kyle said as he ran outside with Jim. Liz and Maria followed. They looked at the five of them as they walked to the house. Liz ran into Max's arms. " I thought I had lost you."  
  
"I'll always be here," he said.  
  
"Is it over?" Kyle asked.  
  
Max looked at all of them. "It's over."  
  
  
  
They were at the airport, waiting for Max and Liz to board their plane. Michael and Isabel were sitting from a distance as they waited.  
  
"What's going to happen when you get home?" Michael asked.  
  
"With Jesse?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I want to work things out," she said.  
  
"That's good," he said, "I hope everything does work out."  
  
"And you?"  
  
Michael sighed. "I'm going to the bar to get a good strong drink."  
  
Max watched Isabel and Michael talk a few seats away. "Is it really over?" he said to himself.  
  
"What, Max?" Liz said as she put down her magazine.  
  
He saw Jeremy standing at the arcade games. "I'm going to talk to Jeremy." He made his way to him. "Jeremy?"  
  
His son's eyes were focused on the game he was playing. ATTACK FROM MARS. Max smiled at the sign. "Are you winning?"  
  
The video game suddenly announced, "You lose. Try again."  
  
Jeremy looked up. "Lindsey used to always play this game with me."  
  
Max frowned at his son's sadness. He put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about Lindsey."  
  
"I know she wasn't real, but she was to me," Jeremy said. "She was my best friend."  
  
"It's going to take time," Max said.  
  
"Do you have to go?" Jeremy asked.  
  
He looked at Liz. "Yes, I do."  
  
"Come back to Pennsylvania with me," Jeremy said, "You have me and Mom." He glanced at Tess, who was sitting with the Valentis. "We can be together."  
  
"Jeremy, I'll always care for you," Max said, "I'll always love you, but I have a family to go to."  
  
Jeremy sulked. "I get it. I'm not your real family."  
  
Max took him into his arms and hugged him tightly. "You'll always be my son. You are my family."  
  
"Max, the plane is boarding," Liz said as she walked up to them.  
  
They went to the plane entrance. Max and Liz turned around to face everyone one last time. "Thank you for everything," Max said. He and Liz waved and disappeared inside the hallway.  
  
"We have to get going too," Michael said. "Isabel and I have a long drive home."  
  
The others watched as they left the airport.  
  
"Jeremy and I need to catch our flight back home too," Tess said. She took her son's hand into hers. "We have a lot of catching up to do."  
  
Jeremy hugged the Valentis and made his way to his plane entrance with Tess.  
  
Kyle, Maria, and Jim were left alone now in the crowded airport.  
  
"Do you think we'll all ever be together again?" Kyle asked.  
  
Maria sighed. "I hope not."  
  
They laughed and made their way out of the airport.  
  
  
  
"Pillow?" the stewardress asked.  
  
Liz took two for her and Max. She put one under her head and handed the other one to him. His eyes were staring out the window. "Max?"  
  
He turned to her. "I was just thinking, when I was stripped of my powers, all I could think about was getting them back." He raised his hand. "I thought having my powers was like a curse, but it's a part of me. It's who I am."  
  
Liz smiled and took his hand into hers. "And I accept it."  
  
Max returned her smile and squeezed her hand.  
  
Liz leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.  
  
Max looked back out the window and watched the ground become smaller and smaller as he ascended into the sky. "And I accept it."  
  
  
  
THE END 


End file.
